Mortgage rates moved up significantly this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 2.79%, up from 2.65% last week but down from 3.65% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
“As Treasury yields have risen, it is putting pressure on mortgage rates to move up,” explains Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement. “While mortgage rates are expected to increase modestly in 2021, they will remain inarguably low, supporting homebuyer demand and leading to continued refinance activity. Borrowers are smart to take advantage of these low rates now and will certainly benefit as a result.”
For the week ended January 14, the average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.23%, up from 2.16% last but down from 3.09% a year ago.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.12%, up from 2.75% last week but down from 3.39% a year ago.