Mortgage rates rise for 3rd straight week

Rates jumped to a level not seen in more than a month

Mortgage rates rise for 3rd straight week

Mortgage rate increased for the third consecutive week during the week ending September 13, jumping to a level not seen in over a month, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey released by Freddie Mac.

The average rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 4.6%, with an average 0.5 point, from the previous average of 4.54%. The latest average also marks an increase from the year-ago average of 3.78%.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.06%, with an average 0.5 point, up from 3.99%. A year ago at this time, the mortgage averaged 3.08%.

Rates for the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.93%, with an average 0.3 point, remaining unchanged from the previous survey. The 5-year ARM averaged 3.13% in the same period in 2017.

Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said strong growth in jobs and consumer credit boosted rates to their highest level since August 2.

“Mortgage rates are currently 0.82% higher than a year ago, which is the biggest year-over-year increase since May 2014,” Khater said. “Looking ahead, annualized comparisons for mortgage applications may look weaker than they appear, but that’s primarily because of the large spread between mortgage rates now and last September, which was when they reached their low for the year.”

Khater expects homebuyer interest to remain elevated due to the stretch of solid job gains and low unemployment. However, mortgage rates may also go up. Khater noted that the Federal Reserve will consider a rate hike this month and at future meetings.

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