3.57: Mortgage Rates Move Up Slightly

• March 28, 2013

by Shilpi Paul

After a few weeks of relatively large jumps, mortgage rates moved up incrementally this week.

On Thursday, Freddie Mac reported 3.57 percent with an average 0.8 point as the average on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

Two weeks ago, rates lept to an average of 3.63 percent; last week, they dropped back down to 3.54 percent.

From Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft:

Low and relatively steady mortgage rates are invigorating the housing market. For instance, existing home sales over January and February experienced the strongest two-month pace since November 2009, while new home sales were the strongest since August and September 2008. Moreover, the number of consumers expecting to purchase a home over the next six months rose to 5.6 percent in March, the second highest share since data was first collected in February 1964, according to The Conference Board.

The UrbanTurf Mortgage Rate Disclaimer: The rates reported by Freddie Mac for 30-year mortgages are usually the best rates that the most qualified borrowers can get, so borrowers or those considering refinancing should not necessarily read this news and think that they can go out and get a loan with the quoted interest rate.

Here’s a look at the path of rates since January 2010:

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/3.57_mortgage_rates_move_up_slightly/6852