Freddie Mac reported that mortgage rates rose after weeks of moderating, according to its “Primary Mortgage Market Survey.”

[caption id="attachment_9187" align="alignleft" width="241"] Sam Khater[/caption]

“While mortgage rates very modestly rose to 4.41 percent this week, they remain below year-ago levels for the fourth week in a row,” said Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac. “In late 2018, mortgage rates rose over a full percentage point from the prior year, which was one of the main reasons that weakness in home sales continued into early 2019. However, the impact of recent lower rates and a strong-labor market has led to a rise in purchase mortgage demand as we start the spring home-buying season.”

Other key takeaways are as follows:

• The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.41 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending March 7, 2019, up from last week when it averaged 4.35 percent. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.46 percent.

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• The 15-year fixed rate mortgage this week averaged 3.83 percent with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.77 percent. A year ago, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.94 percent.
• The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.87 percent with an average 0.3 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.84 percent. A year ago, the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.63 percent.

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