Mortgage rates rise
Realtors say January's Pending Home Sales Index was unchanged from December, contrary to the consensus expectation of a 1% slide.
| 30 yr fixed mtg | 4.98% |
| 15 yr fixed mtg | 4.54% |
| 30 yr fixed jumbo mtg | 5.86% |
| 5/1 ARM | 4.09% |
| 5/1 jumbo ARM | 4.73% |
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mortgage rates rose across the board this week as lower home prices and mortgage rates contributed to a more affordable market for homebuyers, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.
The government-sponsored loan buyer said 30-year fixed-rate loans averaged 6.13% for the week ending Thursday, up from 6.03% last week.
Last year at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 6.14%, Freddie Mac said.
"The combination of lower house prices and lower mortgage rates contributed to a more affordable market for homebuyers," said Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft in a statement Thursday.
"The National Association of Realtors reported that January's Pending Home Sales Index held unchanged from December, contrary to the consensus expectation of a 1% slide, signaling that existing home sales in February could hold steady from January's level," Nothaft added.
Freddie Mac also said 15-year fixed-rate loans averaged 5.60%, up from 5.47% last week. A year ago, the 15-year rate averaged 5.88%.
Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.58%, up from 5.34% last week. A year ago, the 5-year rate averaged 5.90%.
One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.14%, up from 4.94% last week. At this time a year ago, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.42%.
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