Mortgage Rates Go Up, Up and Away

Mortgage rates continued the 2018 trend of ascension, according to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS).

 

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.22 percent for the week ending Feb. 1, up from last week when it averaged 4.15 percent. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.68 percent, up from last week when it averaged 3.62 percent. And the five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.53 percent this week, up from last week when it averaged 3.52.

 

“The Federal Reserve did not hike rates this week, but the market views future hikes as a near certainty,” said Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s Deputy Chief Economist. “The expectation of future Fed rate hikes and increased borrowing by the U.S. Treasury is putting upward pressure on interest rates. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage is up over a quarter of a percentage point (27 basis points) from the first week of the year. Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates have increased for four consecutive weeks and are now slightly above where they were last year at this time.”

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