Reports Show a Slight Rate Increase This Week

According to new data by Realtor.com as of Dec. 6, 2013, “Mortgage rates have surged upwards for the second consecutive week in response to better than expected economic reports, particularly in the growth of private sector jobs.” We’ve been hearing about fixed rate mortgages and the increase in interest rates over the last couple of months. But private companies added 215,000 new jobs in November, according to the ADP employment report. That number is well above the expected consensus.

This means that interest rates for an average 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.46% this week alone, up from 4.29% last week. The average was 4.16% a month ago and 3.34% this time last year. The average rate on a 15 year fixed mortgage also saw an increase this week climbing to 3.47% from the average of 2.67% a year ago.

We’ve been seeing an increase in home sales and October was one of the biggest months on record in the past few years. Home sales rose 25% in October, a sign that mortgages remain affordable to home buyers and that homes are affordable in many markets across the U.S.

In light of a hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage, the rates are as follows:  a five-year ARM saw a slight increase of .05% and a one year ARM rose .01% to 2.59%.

55% of loan experts say they expect mortgage rates to continue to climb, according to the Mortgage Rate Trend Index by bankrate.com.