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After weeks of declines, mortgage rates reversed course, but are still lower than a year ago.
“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,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “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.”
Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending March 7:
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.41 percent,with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 4.35 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.46 percent.
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.83 percent, with an average 0.4 point, rising from last week’s 3.77 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.94 percent.
- 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.87 percent, with an average 0.3 point, rising from last week’s 3.84 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.63 percent.
Source: Freddie Mac