Mortgage Rates Rise for First Time in Three Weeks, Freddie Mac Says

By Dave Sebastian

Mortgage rates moved up for the first time in three weeks, according to Freddie Mac's latest survey.

For the week ended Thursday, the rate on a 30-day fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.87%, up from 2.77% last week and lower than the 2.96% rate it averaged a year earlier.

"Following last Friday's strong jobs report, which revealed broad based gains in employment and wage growth, mortgage rates are moving higher," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Despite the rise, rates remain very low, particularly given that economic growth is strong and will continue into next year."

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 2.15%, up from 2.10% in the previous week. Rates averaged 2.46% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, on average stood at 2.44%, up from 2.40% last week and lower than the 2.90% rate a year earlier.

Mortgage rates tend to move in the same direction as the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which has been rising. Treasury yields rise when investors feel confident enough in the economy to forgo safe-haven assets such as bonds for riskier ones including stocks.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 12, 2021 10:14 ET (14:14 GMT)

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