St Casimirs Mortgage Minute

Mortgage Rates Wander Higher But Remain Near Yearly Lows

Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen's Aug. 26 speech signaling that the central bank is moving closer to raising its benchmark rate initially caused an increase in mortgage rates, but they have since dropped again to near yearly lows. Freddie Mac reported on Sept. 1 that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.46 percent, up from 3.43 percent a week ago but down from 3.89 percent a year ago. The 30-year fixed rate has been less than 3.5 percent for more than two months. Meanwhile, the average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.77 percent, up from 2.74 percent a week ago but down from 3.09 percent a year ago, and the average five-year adjustable-rate mortgage was 2.83 percent, up from 2.75 percent a week ago but down from 2.9 percent a year ago. "The 10-year Treasury yield inched up in response to [Yellen's] speech last Friday then settled near last week's average," said Freddie Mac chief economist Sean Becketti. "Mortgage rates have hovered between 3.41 and 3.48 percent for the past 10 weeks."

From "Mortgage Rates Wander Higher But Remain Near Yearly Lows"
Washington Post (09/01/16) Orton, Kathy