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Mortgage Rates Continue to Climb
December 16, 2016

Mortgage Giant, Freddie Mac released this weeks Prime Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) showing the average mortgage rates on a fixed rate mortgage continue to rise for the seventh week in a row.

The surveys reveals the following:

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.16 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending December 15, 2016, showing a rise from last week when it averaged 4.13 percent.

15-year FRM this week averaged 3.37 percent with an average 0.5 point, a small rise from last week when it averaged 3.36 percent.

5/1-year ARM averaged 3.19 percent this week with an average 0.4 point and a 2.74 margin, up from last week when it averaged 3.17 percent.

Mortgage rates are connected to long-term Treasury bond yields, which have been on a upward incline. The yield on a 10 year Treasury note hit 2.54 percent yesterday, the highest it has been since September of 2014. The day before the election the yield was 1.83 percent.

Many experts are predicting that the mortgage rates with continue to rise. According to Katy Parsons, a mortgage originator at Finance of America Mortgage, Historically, when the Fed has announced a rate hike, it has been beneficial for mortgage rates, but since the election, almost nothing has reacted the way we would expect.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country at the beginning of each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.