Mortgage rates took a significant jump this week, with the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rising seven percentage points, to reach 3.54%, up from last week, when it averaged 3.47%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.87%.
Freddie Mac says it was the single biggest increase in the average rate for the 30-year FRM in more than six months.
Mortgage rates, however, are expected to remain fairly stable in the months to come.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM this week was 2.84%, up from 2.78%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.09%.
The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage was 2.87%, up from 2.84%. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 2.96%.
“A jump last week in the PCE – the price index tracked most closely by the Fed – raised the prospect that inflation might not be completely dead after all,” says Sean Becketti, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a release. “Investors reacted by driving the yield on the 10-year Treasury to its highest point since June. The 30-year mortgage rate jumped seven basis points to 3.54 percent, the largest one-week increase in over six months.”