Mortgage Rates Continued to Climb Higher in the Week Ending March 24, 2022

Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending March 24, 2022. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.42% with an average 0.8 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.16%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.17%.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.63% with an average 0.8 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.39%. A year ago, at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.45%.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.36% with an average 0.3 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.19%. A year ago, at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.84%.

In a statement prepared for the release of this week’s PMMS report, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, Sam Khater said, “This week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased by more than a quarter of a percent as mortgage rates across all loan types continued to move up. Rising inflation, escalating geopolitical uncertainty, and the Federal Reserve’s actions are driving rates higher and weakening consumers’ purchasing power. In short, the rise in mortgage rates, combined with continued house price appreciation, is increasing monthly mortgage payments and quickly affecting homebuyers’ ability to keep up with the market.”