The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular mortgage product, rose above 3% for the first time in seven months this week.
According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average climbed to 3.02%. It was 2.97% a week ago and 3.29% a year ago.
Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage investor, aggregates rates from about 80 lenders across the country to come up with weekly national average mortgage rates. It uses rates for high-quality borrowers with strong credit scores and large down payments. Because of the criteria, these rates are not available to every borrower.
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Because the survey is based on home purchase mortgages, rates for refinances may be higher. The price adjustment for refinance transactions that went into effect in December is adding to the cost. The adjustment, which applies to all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinances, is 0.5% of the loan amount. That works out to $1,500 on a $300,000 loan.
The 15-year fixed-rate average was unchanged at 2.34%, compared with 2.79% a year ago. The five-year adjustable-rate average dropped to 2.73%. It was 2.99% a week ago and 3.18% a year ago.
"The Freddie Mac fixed rate for a 30-year loan rose this week," said George Ratiu, senior economist at Realtor.com. "With the U.S. president indicating that there should be enough covid vaccines available for every American by May, and the U.S. House of Representatives passing additional stimulus in the latest bill, investors retreated from the bond market, driving interest rates higher."