Mortgage rates still rising, Freddie Mac survey finds
Mortgage rates continued to drift higher this week, according to the latest survey from Freddie Mac, which reported Thursday that the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan was 5.03%.
That was up from a flat 5% a week earlier and from an all-time low of 4.87% in the week that ended Oct. 8. The surveys assumed that borrowers with good credit were making a down payment of at least 20%. Borrowers this month have paid on average 0.7% of the loan amount in upfront charges.
Rates on shorter-term fixed-rate mortgages and adjustable-rate loans also rose. For 15-year fixed-rate loans, often used by borrowers seeking to pay off their mortgages faster, the rate this week averaged 4.46% with 0.6% of the balance paid in lender fees and points, up from 4.43% with similar upfront costs last week.
For the full year, 30-year fixed rates have averaged just below 5% thanks to intervention by the government, triggering a refinancing boom. Seven of every 10 mortgages this year have been refinancings.
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