Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), showing that mortgage rates moved up slightly over the course of one week to their highest level since late June, according to the survey.
“The next few months will be key for gauging the health of the housing market,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said in a release accompanying the survey. “Existing sales appear to have peaked, sales of newly built homes are slowing and unsold inventory is rising for the first time in three years.
“Meanwhile, affordability pressures are increasingly a concern in many markets, as the combination of continuous price gains and higher mortgage rates appear to be giving more prospective buyers a pause,” Khater added. “This is why new and existing-home sales are not breaking out this summer despite the healthy economy and labor market.”
The survey revealed:
- A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.54 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending July 26, 2018, up from the previous week when it averaged 4.52 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.92 percent;
- A 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.02 percent with an average 0.4 point, up from the previous week when it averaged 4.00 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.20 percent; and
- A 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.87 percent this week (unchanged from the previous week) with an average 0.4 point. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.18 percent.