Mortgage rates inch higher, but home-buying demand is growing

A year ago, the 30-year was averaging at 6.33%.

The average rate on the 15-year mortgage was 5.87%, down from 5.89% last week. The 15-year was at 5.52% a year ago.

Freddie Mac’s weekly report on mortgage rates is based on thousands of applications received from lenders across the country that are submitted to Freddie Mac when a borrower applies for a mortgage. 

Separate data by Mortgage News Daily said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was averaging at 6.78% as of Thursday afternoon.

What Freddie Mac said: “Mortgage rates have not moved materially over the last three weeks and remain in the mid-six percent range, which has marginally increased homebuyer demand,” Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement.

“Even this slight uptick in demand, combined with inventory that remains tight, continues to cause prices to rise faster than incomes, meaning affordability remains a major headwind for buyers,” he added. 

What are they saying? “With rates expected to remain below 7 percent for the foreseeable future, [the Mortgage Bankers’ Association] anticipates renewed activity in the housing market heading into the spring, especially if housing supply continues to rise,” MBA’s president and CEO Bob Broeksmit said in a statement.