Fixed Mortgage Rates Move Higher for Second Consecutive Week

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  Published in Business and Finance on Thursday, August 9th 2012 at 7:15 GMT by Market Wire

Fixed Mortgage Rates Move Higher for Second Consecutive Week -- MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- [ Freddie Mac ] (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its [ Primary Mortgage Market Survey ]® (PMMS®), showing fixed mortgage rates moving higher following stronger-than-expected employment reports. The 30-year fixed averaged 3.59 percent, and the 15-year fixed averaged, 2.84 percent, still near the historic low.

News Facts

• [ 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ] (FRM) averaged 3.59 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending August 9, 2012, up from last week when it averaged 3.55 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.32 percent. 
• [ 15-year FRM ] this week averaged 2.84 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.83 percent.A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.50 percent. 
• [ 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage ] (ARM) averaged 2.77 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.75 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.13 percent.
• [ 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM ] averaged 2.65 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.70 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.89 percent.  

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for [ Regional and National Mortgage Rate Details ] and [ Definitions ]. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quotes
Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.

• "Fixed mortgage rates inched up again this week following stronger-than-expected employment reports. The economy added 163,000 [ jobs ] in July, well above the market consensus forecast of 100,000, and the largest increase since February. In addition, the number of announced corporate [ layoffs ] fell 45 percent in July compared to last July and was the third time this year that announced layoffs were less than the same month in 2011 according to The Challenger Report. This suggests further net gains in employment are likely in the near future."

Get the latest information from Freddie Mac's Office of the Chief Economist on Twitter: [ @FreddieMac ]

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for one in four homebuyers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing. [ www.FreddieMac.com ].

SOURCE Freddie Mac

RELATED LINKS
[ http://www.freddiemac.com ]