Freddie Mac unveils latest mortgage market survey
Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage posted a slight decline from a week ago.
The benchmark 30-year mortgage rate averaged 3.89% for the week ending Feb. 24, down from last week when it was 3.92%. A year ago at this time, the long-term rate averaged 2.97%.
Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater noted that even with this week’s drop, mortgage rates have increased more than a full percentage point over the past six weeks.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped one basis point to 3.89% week over week. That’s compared to the average 2.34% 15-year FRM at this time last year.
The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) remained unchanged at 2.98% from a week ago and was slightly lower than last year’s 2.99% average.
Read more: Housing sentiment slumps to lowest level since May 2020
“Overall economic growth remains strong, but rising inflation is already impacting consumer sentiment, which has markedly declined in recent months,” Khater said. “As we enter the spring homebuying season with higher mortgage rates and continued low inventory, we expect home price growth to remain firm before cooling off later this year.”
