Freddie Mac: Mortgage Rates Hold Steady; 30-Year Averaging 4.12 Percent

Mortgage rates are moving fast in one direction this summer — sideways.

Freddie Mac’s weekly survey, out Thursday, showed the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate home loan was 4.12 percent, practically unchanged from last week’s 4.13 percent.

At that rate, a borrower with a $300,000 mortgage would have to pay $1,454 a month in principal and interest.

In the month before the latest surveys, Freddie reported the following averages for the 30-year loan, the most widely used home-financing option: 4.13 percent, 4.15 percent, 4.12 percent and 4.14 percent.

The survey by the government-sponsored mortgage-finance firm asks lenders about the terms they are offering to low-risk borrowers who pay less than 1 percent of the loan amount in upfront fees and discount points.

The 30-year average edged above 4.5 percent back in January. It hit 4.2 percent once in June, but has not been above that level since May.

Lenders told Freddie Mac they were offering 15-year fixed loans this week at an average of 3.23 percent, down from 3.26 percent. Start rates on adjustable loans also were little changed.

Where are the rates headed next? The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is a common proxy. It shot higher on Wednesday afternoon, right after Freddie Mac wrapped up this week’s survey, in reaction to a report that the economy expanded 4 percent in the second quarter.

This article appeared in print in the August 1st, 2014 edition of Hamodia.