The interest rates for 15- and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose in the week ending Dec. 20, according to a weekly survey by Freddie Mac.
The Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealed that the rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.14 percent with an average 0.4 point for the week, up from an average 6.11 percent in the previous week. The average rate is up from 6.13 percent for the same week last year.
Meanwhile, the average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.79 percent with an average 0.4 percent, according to the survey, compared with 5.78 percent in the prior week. The rate averaged 5.89 percent in the same week last year, Freddie Mac reported.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averages 5.9 percent for the week ending Dec. 20, with an average 0.5 point, which is up 1 basis point from an average 5.89 percent last week. For the same week last year, the average rate for a 5-year ARM was 5.96 percent.
The average rate for 1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs was 5.51 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, up 1 basis point since last week. During this week last year, the 1-year ARM rate averaged 5.44 percent.
“Stronger-than-expected inflation reports and retail sales for November put upward pressure on long-term interest rates late last week,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a statement.
“However, ensuing data releases suggested further weakness in the housing market over November and December and allowed interest rates to drift back down. The net effect left mortgage rates little changed this week.”
Nothaft added that producer and consumer price indexes rose in November, “implying inflation may still be a threat to the economy,” while retail sales far exceeded market expectations.
Single-family housing starts, meanwhile, fell 5.4 percent in November to 829,000 — the slowest pace since April 1991, and a National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index found that builder confidence in December remained at the record-low levels since the inception of the index in 1985, Nothaft also noted.
