Year-end housing gains helped boost interest rates this week.
The average interest rate on 30-year fixed rate mortgages (FRMs)rose to 3.98 percent, with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Jan. 26, up from 3.88 percent last week and 4.80 percent a year ago, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey
“Fixed mortgage rates ticked up this week as the housing market ended 2011 on a high note. New construction of one-family homes rose 4.4 percent in December to an annualized rate of 470,000, the most since April 2010. Existing home sales increased 5.0 percent at the end of the year to 4.61 million houses, the largest amount since May 2010. Furthermore, pending home sales in November and December averaged the highest reading since the March and April 2010 period,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.
The average rate on the 15-year FRM was also up to 3.24 percent with an average 0.8 point, compared to 3.17 percent a week ago. The rate was 4.09 percent last year at this time.
The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.85 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, up 2.82 percent last week. The 5-year ARM averaged 3.70 percent a year ago.
Finally, for the week ending Jan. 26, Freddie Mac reported the 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.74 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, unchanged from a week ago. Last year the rate was 3.26 percent.
