Freddie: Mortgage Rates Edge Further Above 5%

Freddie Mac’s weekly survey reported today that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.14 percent, with an average 0.7 point, over the previous seven days – up from last week when it averaged 5.05 percent.

Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.10 percent. 

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.54 percent, with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.45 percent.  A year ago, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.83 percent. 

“Although long-term mortgage rates rose for the fourth week in a row, they still remain affordable by historical standards,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

Nothaft compared rates to their peak in 2000.

“Based on today’s median loan amount of $138,000, monthly principal and interest payments for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are close to one-third less than a decade ago when rates peaked at 8.6 percent in May 2000,” he said. “This translates into almost 50 percent less in interest payments over the full 30-year term.”

The 5-year, Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.44 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.40 percent.  A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.57 percent. 

The 1-year, Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.33 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.38 percent.  Last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.85 percent. 

Nothaft reported that the housing market is slowly improving. House prices rose for the fifth consecutive month in October to the highest level since the beginning of 2009, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller, 20-city composite index.  Eleven of the cities experienced positive growth, he said.