Mortgage Rates Swing Upward

Jul 18, 2019

After three weeks of holding steady, mortgage rates have taken an upward motion in Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending July 18.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.81 percent, 2019, up from last week when it averaged 3.75 percent. The 15-year FRM averaged 3.23 percent, up from last week when it averaged 3.22 percent. The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.48 percent, up from last week when it averaged 3.46 percent.

“Mortgage rates moved higher after remaining at around the same level for about three weeks,” said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater. “The rise in rates was driven by continued improvement in consumer spending and partly due to optimism around a forthcoming cut in short term interest rates, which should provide support for business and investor sentiment.

“Despite this slight increase in rates, homebuyers are taking advantage of the multi-year low rates in droves, which is evident in the consistently higher refinance and purchase application volumes,” Khater continued. “The improvement in housing demand should provide sufficient momentum for the housing market and economy during the rest of the year.”

After three weeks of holding steady, mortgage rates have taken an upward motion in Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending July 18

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Phil Hall

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Jul 18, 2019

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