Average Weekly 30-Year Mortgage Rate Tops 5%

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose above 5% during the week ended Dec. 24, according to Freddie Mac. "Although interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are above 5% this week for the first time since the end of October, they are still around 0.5 percentage points below this year's peak set in mid-June," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac. Rates also remain ahead of year-ago levels, although in the case of the 30-year it is not by much. At 5.05%, the average 30-year rate is up slightly from the previous week's 4.94% and down — but only slightly — from 5.14% a year ago. The average rate for a 15-year FRM during the week ended Dec. 24 was 4.45%, up from 4.38% the previous week but down from 4.91% a year ago. The average rate for a five-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage during the week ended Dec. 24 was 4.4%, up from 4.37% the previous week but down from 5.49% a year ago. The average rate for a one-year, Treasury-indexed ARM during the week ended Dec. 24 was 4.38%, up from 4.34% the previous week but down from 4.95% a year ago. Average points were 0.7 for 30-year FRMs and 0.6 for all other aforementioned loan product types.