Employment-Driven Rise in Rates Persists, on Average, in Week

The effects of a rise in long-term mortgage rates that began with what was seen as a relatively optimistic employment report Dec. 4 persisted on average through the latest week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Like the Mortgage Bankers Association's report for the week ending Dec. 4 that was released Wednesday, the Freddie Mac report for the week ending Dec. 10 showed all the average weekly mortgage rates it tracked rising with the exception of the one-year adjustable-rate mortgage rate, which dropped slightly by a basis point. The move ends a trend toward record-low rates in the 30-year loans that dominate the market but Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft notes that rates for those loans are still relatively low, about 0.7 percentage points below those at the same time last year. This represents a savings of $81 per month on a $200,000 mortgage. During the week ended Dec. 10, the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 4.81% compared to 4.71% the previous week and 5.47% a year ago. The average 15-year FRM rate was 4.32%, compared to 4.27% the previous week and 5.20% a year ago. The average five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage rate was 4.26%, compared to 4.19% the previous week and 5.82% a year ago. The average one-year Treasury ARM rate was 4.24% compared to 4.25% a week ago and 5.09% a year ago. Average points were as follows: 0.7 for 30-year FRMs and one-year Treasury ARMs, 0.6 for 15-year FRMs and 0.5 for five-year Treasury hybrids.