Freddie Mac’s most recent Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows average fixed mortgage rates moving significantly higher following the post-election sell-off in the Treasury market.
“Last week’s election fell in the middle of our survey week, making it impossible to determine how closely the mortgage rate would track the post-election sell-off in the Treasury market,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “This week, the verdict is in — over the last two weeks, the 30-year mortgage rate jumped 40 basis points to 3.94 percent, almost identical to the 39 basis point increase in the 10-year Treasury yield. If rates stick at these levels, expect a final burst of home sales and refinances as ‘fence sitters’ try to beat further increases, then a marked slowdown in housing activity.”
Here, a snapshot of Freddie Mac’s survey findings:
• The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.94 percent, with an average 0.5 point for the week ending Nov. 17, up from the previous week when it averaged 3.57 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.97 percent.
• The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.14 percent, with an average 0.5 point, up from the previous week when it averaged 2.88 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.18 percent.
• The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.07 percent, with an average 0.4 point, up from the previous week when it averaged 2.88 percent. A year ago, the five-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.98 percent.