Mortgage rates rose across the board this past week on positive jobs data and increasing bond yields, Freddie Mac said Thursday.
The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage hit 3.92% for the week ending March 15, up from 3.88% the previous week and down from 4.76% a year ago, the government-sponsored enterprise said.
In addition, the 15-year, FRM hit 3.16%, up from 3.13% a week earlier, and down from 3.97% last year.
The 1-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage also grew from 2.73% to 2.79% in the most recent survey, while the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid arm reached 2.83%, up from 2.81% last week and down from 3.57% last year.
“An upbeat employment report for February caused U.S. Treasury bond yields to increase over the week and mortgage rates followed,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac. “The economy gained 227,000 jobs, above the market consensus forecast, and revisions added another 61,000 to January and December.”
Bankrate noted a similar positive trend across fixed and variable mortgage rates.
“Mortgage rates increased thanks to more good news on the economy, a pat on the back from the Fed, and a Greek debt restructuring,” Bankrate said. “Although the Federal Reserve is sticking with their late-2014 timetable for boosting short-term interest rates, a more upbeat tone from the Fed did not go unnoticed by investors.”
Bankrate data shows the 30-year, FRM rising to 4.15% from 4.11% last week. The 15-year, FRM also grew from 3.34% to 3.38%, and the 5/1 ARM shot up from 3.03% to 3.14%.
kpanchuk@housingwire.com
