Average 30-year FRM Rate Inches Up Week-to-Week

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage inched up to 5.07% during the week ended Feb. 26 from 5.04% but remained well below where it was a year ago when it was 6.24%, according to Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates in general saw little change week-to-week because economic indicators have been mixed, said Freddie chief economist Frank Nothaft, noting that while consumer confidence in February dropped to the lowest level seen since records began in 1967, both producer and consumer price indices rose in January to levels higher than the market consensus. The average rate for 15-year FRMs during the latest week was 4.68%, the same as the previous week but down from 5.72% a year ago. The average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages was 5.06%, up from 5.04% the previous week but down from 5.43% a year ago. The average one-year Treasury-indexed ARM rate was 4.81%, up from 4.80% the previous week but down from 5.11% a year ago. Average points were as follows: 0.7 for 30- and 15-year FRMs and five-year Treasury-indexed hybrids, and 0.6 for one-year ARMs.