Mortgage rates were basically flat this week, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained pinned at 2.73%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
Still, that’s down considerably from 3.47% a year ago.
“It’s a tale of two economies. The services economy remains in the doldrums, but the production side of the economy remains strong,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement. “New COVID-19 cases are receding, which is encouraging and that has led to a rise in Treasury rates. But, the run-up in Treasury rates has not impacted mortgage rates yet, which have held firm.
“The residential real estate market remains solid given healthy purchase demand while implied real-time home price growth is high, due to the inventory shortage that is plaguing the housing market,” Khater adds.
For the week ended February 11, the average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.19%, down from 2.21% the previous week and down from 2.97% a year ago.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.79%, up slightly from 2.78% last week but down from 3.28% a year ago.
Photo: Tierra Mallorca