The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate began to rise after four weeks of contraction, a possible sign of stability that could draw in home shoppers with spring buying season weeks away.
The big rise in mortgage rates during the past year has throttled the housing market, with sales of existing homes falling for 11 straight months to the lowest level in more than a decade.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.12% on Thursday from 6.09% last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A year ago, the average rate was 3.69%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.25%, up from last week when it averaged 5.14%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.93%.
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Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate inched up to 6.12% this week from 6.09% last week. The average rate a year ago was 3.69%.
The average long-term rate reached a two-decade high of 7.08% in the fall as the Federal Reserve continued to raise its key lending rate in a bid to cool the economy and bring down stubborn, four-decade-high inflation.
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"Following an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve and a surprisingly strong jobs report, mortgage rates increased slightly this week," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
"The 30-year fixed-rate continues to hover close to six percent, and interested homebuyers are easing their way back to the market just in time for the spring homebuying season." Khater continued.
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The big rise in mortgage rates during the past year has devastated the housing market, with sales of existing homes falling for 11 straight months to the lowest level in more than a decade. Higher rates can add hundreds of a dollars a month in costs for homebuyers, on top of already high home prices.
The National Association of Realtors reported earlier this month that existing U.S. home sales totaled 5.03 million last year, a 17.8% decline from 2021. That is the weakest year for home sales since 2014 and the biggest annual decline since 2008, during the housing crisis of the late 2000s.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
