U.S. Mortgage Rates Still Favorable for Spring Home Buying Season

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According to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), U.S. mortgage rates moved higher for the second week in a row, while also only posting the second increase this year making mortgage rates very attractive for the upcoming spring home buying season.
 
Sean Becketti, chief economist of Freddie Mac says, "The 10-year Treasury yield ended the survey week exactly where it started, however the solid February employment report boosted the yield noticeably on Friday and Monday. Our mortgage rate survey captured the impact of this temporary increase in yield, and the 30-year mortgage rate rose 4 basis points to 3.68 percent. This marks the second increase this year. Nonetheless, the mortgage rate remains 33 basis points lower than its end-of-2015 level."

Freddie Mac PMMS Report Facts:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.68 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending March 10, 2016, up from last week when it averaged 3.64 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.86 percent.

• 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.96 percent with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.94 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.10 percent.

• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.92 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.84 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.01 percent.