WASHINGTON – Rates on 30-year home loans surged above 5 percent for the first time in nearly three months this week as investors pushed up rates on long-term government debt, which is closely tied to mortgage rates.
Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 5.29 percent this week, from an average of 4.91 percent a week earlier. It was the highest weekly average in nearly six months and the first time rates were above 5 percent since the week of March 12, when they hit 5.03 percent. Mortgage rates “caught up to the recent rise in long-term bond yields this week,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president said.
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