Mortgage Rates Rise Continues

(RTTNews) - Mortgage rates, or interest rates on home loans, continues on its upward trek, according to mortgage provider Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB).

Releasing the results of its primary mortgage market survey, Freddie Mac said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage or FRM averaged 5.30 percent for the week ending May 12, 2022, up from 5.27 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the average rate was 2.94 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.48, down from 4.52 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.26 percent.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage or ARM averaged 3.98 percent, up from 3.96 percent last week. It was 2.59 percent a year ago.

"Homebuyers continue to show resilience even though rising mortgage rates are causing monthly payments to increase by about one-third as compared to a year ago," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's Chief Economist. "Several factors are contributing to this dynamic, including the large wave of first-time homebuyers looking to realize the dream of homeownership. In the months ahead, we expect monetary policy and inflation to discourage many consumers, weakening purchase demand and decelerating home price growth."