30-Year Mortgage Rates Up To 3.86%

(RTTNews) - Mortgage guarantor Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) on Thursday said average fixed mortgage rates are increasing on the back of a buoyant job market.

Releasing the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Freddie Mac said the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.86 percent for this week following a strong labor market report.

The higher mortgage rate essentially bring rates back to where they were at the start of the year, said Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist, Freddie Mac.

The average 3.86 percent for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is up from last week when it averaged 3.75 percent. A year ago, the average was 4.37 percent.

The job market has exceeded market expectations. The U.S. economy created 295,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate dipped to 5.5 percent from 5.7 percent in January.

Freddie Mac also said the average rate for a 15-year mortgage rose to 3.1 percent this week from 3.03 percent in the prior week.

The Mortgage Bankers Assn. has said mortgage applications for new homes increased in January and February, compared with a year ago.