Mortgage rates hold for now, but expect increases

Mortgage rates are holding steady despite last month’s wind-down of a $1.25 trillion Federal Reserve program to buy up mortgage-backed securities.

Rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.06 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 29, down slightly from 5.07 percent last week but up from 4.78 percent a year ago, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.