After falling last week, mortgage rates were back on the rise, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased to 3.75%, up from 3.69% last week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 30-year was 4.94%.
“The modest uptick in mortgage rates over the last two months reflects declining recession fears and a more sanguine outlook for the global economy,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement. “Due to the improved economic outlook, purchase mortgage applications rose fifteen percent over the same week a year ago, the second highest weekly increase in the last two years.
“Given the important role residential real estate plays in the economy, the steady improvement of the housing market is a reassuring sign that the economy is on solid ground heading into next year,” he adds.
The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.2%, up from 3.13% the previous week.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 15-year was 4.36%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.44%, up from 3.39%.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a five-year ARM was 4.14%.