On 30-year fixed mortgages, rates increased from their lowest level in many years, inching up to a country-wide average of 4.21 percent.
The average rate for 30-year fixed loans was up from 4.19 percent the previous week, according to Freddie Mac.
Dating back to 1971, that was the lowest level on records.
On 15-year fixed loans, the average rate jumped to 3.64 percent.
Being the lowest weekly average on records dating back to 1991, that was up from 3.62 percent a week earlier.
Since the month of April, rates have been dropping.
The latest drops are because investors have been purchasing Treasury bonds in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s likely move to purchase Treasurys to positively increase the economy.
That demand lowers Treasury yields, which mortgage rates have a tendancy to track.
Low rates haven’t helped the housing market, which recorded its worst summer in many years.
In refinancing, they have led to a modest surge.
Freddie Mac collects rates from lenders around the nation on Monday through Wednesday of each week in order to calculate average mortgage rates.
Even within a given day, rates often fluctuate significantly.
On five-year adjustable-rate mortgages, rates averaged 3.45 percent, up from 3.47 percent a week earlier.
On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, rates dropped to an average of 3.3 percent from 3.43 percent.
The rates do not include points, also known as add-on fees.
1 percent is equal to one point of the total loan amount.
For loans in Freddie Mac’s survey, the nationwide fee averaged 0.8 a point for 30-year.
For 15-year and 1-year mortgages, it averaged 0.7 of a point and 0.6 of a point for 5-year mortgages.
Source: sfgate.com