Freddie Mac released its weekly update on national mortgage rates Thursday morning, showing modest uptakes in interest rates being charged on most of the popular mortgage products.
Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) averaged eight basis points more expensive this week than last, at 4.39%. Fifteen-year FRMs tacked on four basis points, rising to 3.43%. Meanwhile, 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) rose two b.p. to 3.18%.
Of the four main categories covered, only one -- one-year adjustables -- got cheaper, falling a single basis point, to 2.64%.
Commenting on the shifts in rates, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft seemed to think that banks were hedging against a possible "change in monetary policy" at the Fed this week. The Fed statement, however, once it came out, showed no signs of such a change being imminent. If history is any guide, therefore, we could see interest rates subside once again in next week's Freddie update.
