Mortgage rates were up again this past week in the Freddie Mac Weekly Survey and are now at levels last seen 14 years ago. The 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage was at 6.02% in the Freddie Mac survey results and the 15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage was at 5.21%.
Next week the Federal Reserve is expected to raise the Fed Funds Rate target by another 0.75%. The Fed was also expected this month to start reducing the amount of mortgage and treasury securities on its balance sheet by $95 billion every month, which they refer to as tapering or tightening. Just like throughout the summer tapering, the Fed is off to a very unimpressive and tepid start. In fact, mortgages and total assets have risen this month. (See charts below.)
Mortgage rates are likely to remain volatile in this uncertain environment as the Fed tries to navigate this last part of the year and regain some credibility. It remains difficult to predict what may happen to rates if or when the Fed starts to taper according to its actual plan.
(dynamic charts with current data)
Freddie Mac’s Weekly Survey was released this morning with its most recent assessment of the mortgage rate landscape. See the details of their survey below.
(dynamic chart with current data)
