Mortgage rates edged upward in the week ending October 25, but remained near all-time lows, according to Freddie Mac.
The government-sponsored enterprise's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.41 percent, a slight increase from the 3.37 percent rate in the previous week. A year ago, 30-year FRMs averaged 4.1 percent.
Meanwhile, 15-year FRMs jumped from 2.66 percent to 2.72 percent. Last year at this time, they averaged 3.38 percent.
"Mortgage rates remained relatively unchanged this week and should continue to support the housing market and mortgage refinance," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac. "In addition, low rates and strong demand have already pushed the FHFA purchase-only home price index in August to its highest level since June 2010."
Russell Price, senior economist at Ameriprise Financial, told Businessweek that many consumers have confidence that the bottom has been reached, which has allowed them to take advantage of these record low rates. With the improved confidence, more Americans could potentially contribute to the housing recovery by buying homes.
