As Brexit volatility fades, rates are rising

Rates ticked up this week as post-Brexit uncertainty faded

Mortgage rates ticked upward this week as post-Brexit uncertainty faded – but are still far below levels at this time last year, according to new data from Freddie Mac.

“Post-Brexit volatility tapered off over the last two weeks, allowing interest rates to bounce back a bit from their record (10-year Treasury yield) and near-record (30-year mortgage rate) lows,” said Sean Becketti, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “This week, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased 3 basis points to a still-quite-low 3.45 percent. With the Federal Reserve on hold and the UK monetary authority taking at least a one-month breather, we don't expect any significant movement in mortgage rates in the near-term. This summer remains an auspicious time to buy a home or to refinance an existing mortgage.”

Average rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.45% this week, up from 3.42% last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.04%.

Average rates for 15-year FRMs rose to 2.75% this week from last week’s average of 2.72%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.21%.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage was also up, with rates averaging 2.78% this week. Last week, rates averaged 2.72%. A year ago, rates for the 5-year ARM averaged 2.97%.