Mortgage rates increased for the second straight week as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting indicated that the central bank is unlikely to stop winding down a stimulus program that has helped keep rates near record lows.
Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.33 percent with an average point of 0.7 for the week ending Feb. 20, up from 4.28 percent last week and 3.56 percent a year ago, according to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans and one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs also all increased.
Source: Freddie Mac