Mortgage rates rise above 4% threshold

The increase comes as the Fed announced plans to downsize its bond portfolio

Mortgage rates rise above 4% threshold
Mortgage rates rose last week for the second straight week as market tensions continued to ease, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey.

The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose above the 4% threshold to 4.04% from 3.99% the week before. Discount and origination points for the mortgage type averaged 0.28.

Rates for the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage increased to 4.09%. The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate hiked to 3.25% from 3.22% the prior week. The mortgage type had 0.23 average discount and origination points.

The 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) rose to 3.52% from 3.46% the week before. It had 0.35 average discount and origination points. The average rate for the 7-year ARM also increased last week to 3.69%.

Bankrate.com said the modest increase came as market tensions eased, driving rebounds in bond yields and mortgage rates. Additionally, the higher rates came as the Federal Reserve announced that it would begin downsizing its $4.5 trillion bond portfolio. Yields on government- and mortgage-backed bonds rose higher as investors unwound some of their holdings, the company said.

Meanwhile, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the average rate for the 30-year fixed mortgage rose for the first time in seven weeks. The rate averaged 3.83% for the week ending Sept. 21, up from the 3.78% average in the prior period. The mortgage type had an average 0.5 point.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.13% with an average 0.5 points, an increase from the previous 3.08% average. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARM averaged 3.17% with an average 0.4 point, up from the 3.13% in the previous period.

"The 10-year Treasury yield continued its upward trend, rising seven basis points this week,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sean Becketti said. “As we expected, the 30-year mortgage rate followed suit, increasing five basis points to 3.83%. This week's uptick in the 30-year mortgage rate ends a nearly two-month streak of declines."


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