In a recent report released by Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)covering the week ending April 27, mortgage rates were shown to have increased, a first from a five-week decline.
Report Highlights
- The 30-year fixed rate mortgage concluded with an average of 4.03 percent, a rise from the previous week’s median of 3.97 percent and last year’s 3.66 percent.
- The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage finished with an average of 3.27 percent, another increase from last week’s 3.23 percent and 2.89 percent from the same time a year ago.
- Meanwhile, the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage reached 3.12 percent which is a 0.4 point increase compared to last week’s average of 3.10 percent and 2016’s 2.86 percent.
Ratesare on a high-low parade, held together by very fragile political elements that threaten to disturb its stability in the near future. The French elections, for example, is seen as a potential driver of significant rate change should the worst fears manifest. For now, rates are still seen as a positive.
“The 10-year Treasury yield rose about 10 basis points this week. The 30-year mortgage rate moved with Treasury yields, rising 6 basis points to 4.03 percent. Despite recent swings in mortgage rates, the housing market continues to show signs of strength — both existing and new home sales in March exceeded expectations, and the Case-Shiller Home Price Index posted another solid gain,” says Freddie Mac chief economist Sean Becketti.
The Survey
The Primary Mortgage Market Survey® was established in April 1971 as the foremost source of mortgage trends in the regional and national level. Its data is utilized by both the public and the mortgage industry at large to gauge market conditions and evaluate mortgage loan options.
Survey Parameters
The survey results are gathered based on lenders’ most popular mortgage products – inclusive of 30 and 15-year FRMs as well as adjustable-rate mortgages. The first-lien prime conventional conforming home purchase mortgages (with an LTV of 80 percent) are considered primary basis for the survey. Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury yields are used to index ARMs. Lenders are asked to provide the a) initial coupon rate and points, as well as b) ARM margins for this purpose.
