3.76: Mortgage Rates Continue Upward Trend

• February 19th 2015

by Lark Turner

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Mortgage rates are continuing their move northward this week after starting 2015 at unexpected lows.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.76 percent with an average 0.6 point this week, according to Freddie Mac. That’s up from 3.69 last week and down from 4.33 percent a year ago.

In a news release, Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s deputy chief economist, said strong Treasury performance was leading the rise.

“Mortgage rates rose for the second consecutive week as 10-year Treasury yields surged. Housing starts declined 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted pace of 1.065 million units and housing permits dipped 0.7 percent in January,” Kiefer said in a news release. “However, homebuilders remain confident about new home sales although slightly tempered from last month as the NAHB Housing Market Index slipped 2 points to 55 in February.”

UrbanTurf is following the path of the rates in this chart:

The UrbanTurf Mortgage Rate Disclaimer: The rates reported by Freddie Mac for 30-year mortgages are usually the best rates that the most qualified borrowers can get, so borrowers or those considering refinancing should not necessarily read this news and think that they can go out and get a loan with the quoted interest rate.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/3.76_mortgage_rates_continue_upward_trend/9549.