WASHINGTON – Rates on 30-year mortgages inched up this week after matching an all-time record low a week earlier.
Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 4.84 percent this week, down from an average of 4.78 percent last week. Rates, have been below 5 percent for eight consecutive weeks.
The all-time low of 4.78 percent was first recorded on the week of April 2 and again last week. Freddie Mac’s survey dates back to 1971.
Low rates have sparked a surge in refinancing activity, with about 75 percent of new home loan applications coming from borrowers seeking to refinance.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement that the slight rise came amid news that “the economy may be approaching the bottom of the recession.”
Mortgage rates fell dramatically over the winter.
They fell further after the Federal Reserve said earlier in March that it would buy $1.2 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion in long-term government debt, which traditionally influences rates on 30-year home loans.
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