{"id":18584,"date":"2021-03-09T12:00:03","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T12:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=18584"},"modified":"2021-03-09T12:00:03","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T12:00:03","slug":"mortgage-rates-top-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/mortgage-rates-top-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Mortgage Rates Top 3%"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mortgage Rates Top 3%<\/h1>\n
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Home buyers may not be happy: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage topped the 3% threshold, averaging 3.02% this week, Freddie Mac reports. Despite the uptick, economists note that mortgage rates remain near historical lows.<\/p>\n

Since reaching an all-time low in January, mortgage rates have risen by more than 30 basis points, \u201cand the impact on purchase demand has been noticeable,\u201d says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac\u2019s chief economist. \u201cWhile purchase activity remains high, it has cooled off over the last few weeks and is currently on par with early March, prior to the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Khater predicts that the rise in mortgage rates over the next couple of months will likely be more muted in comparison to the last few weeks. The National Association of REALTORS\u00ae agrees, forecasting the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average 3% for the first half of this year.<\/p>\n

Job gains also may help lift buyer demand regardless of mortgage rate movement. The Commerce Department reported Friday that the country added 379,000 jobs in February, which could counterbalance rising mortgage rates, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. \u201cThe [real estate] market will experience countervailing forces of the higher push from more jobs but also the pullback of higher mortgage rates,\u201d Yun says. \u201cWe will have to wait to see which force will be stronger. Back in 2018, the economy roared with 2.3 million job creations, but home sales modestly declined because mortgage rates rose from 4% at the beginning of the year to 4.6% by the year\u2019s end. This time, rate increases will be occurring but will be well below 4%.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending March 4:<\/p>\n