Mortgage Rates Near Seven Percent

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on Thursday, revealing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.87% this week, up 13 basis points from last week and up 45 basis points from this time last year.

“After decreasing for a couple of weeks, mortgage rates are once again on the upswing,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “As the spring homebuying season gets underway, existing home inventory has increased slightly and new home construction has picked up. Despite elevated rates, homebuilders are displaying renewed confidence in the housing market, focusing on the fact that there is a good amount of pent-up demand, an ongoing supply shortage and expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut rates later in the year.”

Other takeaways:

• The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.87% as of March 21, 2024, up from last week's average of 6.74%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.42%.
• The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.21%, up from last week when it averaged 6.16%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.68%.