Low mortgage rates to support housing market activity in the next few months
Mortgage rates edged up by a few basis points this week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from last week's average of 3.64% to 3.65% for the week ending Jan. 16. Last year, the rate for the 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 4.45%.
"By all accounts, mortgage rates remain low and, along with a strong job market, are fueling the consumer-driven economy by boosting purchasing power, which will certainly support housing market activity in the coming months," said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also went up slightly from 3.07% to 3.09%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM was 79 basis points higher.
The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage jumped nine basis points to 3.39% from 3.30% a week ago and 48 basis points from last year, when it averaged 3.87%.
“While the outlook for the housing market is positive, worsening homeowner and rental affordability due to the lack of housing supply continue to be hurdles, and they are spreading to many interior markets that have traditionally been affordable," Khater said.
