Mortgage rates increased slightly during the week ended July 26, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) at 4.54%, up from 4.52% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.92%.
“The next few months will be key for gauging the health of the housing market,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. “Existing sales appear to have peaked, sales of newly built homes are slowing and unsold inventory is rising for the first time in three years.
“Meanwhile, affordability pressures are increasingly a concern in many markets, as the combination of continuous price gains and higher mortgage rates appear to be giving more prospective buyers a pause,” Khater adds. “This is why new and existing-home sales are not breaking out this summer despite the healthy economy and labor market.”
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 4.02%, up from 4.00%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.20%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.87%, unchanged from the previous week). A year ago at this time, the five-year ARM averaged 3.18%.
