Mortgage Rates Continue To Rise

(RTTNews) - Mortgage rates, or interest rates on home loans, continue to rise driven by global geopolitical tensions, according to mortgage provider Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB).

Releasing the results of its primary mortgage market survey, Freddie Mac said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage or FRM averaged 4.42 percent for the week ending March 24, 2021, up from 4.16 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the average rate was 3.17 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.63 percent, up from 3.39 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.45 percent.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage or ARM averaged 3.36 percent, up from last week when it averaged 3.19. It was 2.84 percent a year ago.

"This week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased by more than a quarter of a percent as mortgage rates across all loan types continued to move up," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's Chief Economist. "Rising inflation, escalating geopolitical uncertainty and the Federal Reserve's actions are driving rates higher and weakening consumers' purchasing power. In short, the rise in mortgage rates, combined with continued house price appreciation, is increasing monthly mortgage payments and quickly affecting homebuyers' ability to keep up with the market."