Mortgage rates bounce back

Mortgage rates were up sharply this week, bouncing back from record lows following the release of a better-than-expected jobs report, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

While forecasters expect rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will stay well below 5 percent through 2012, strong economic growth could trigger a faster rise in long-term interest rates, including mortgages.

Freddie Mac said rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.12 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending Oct. 13, up from 3.94 percent last week, an all-time low in records dating to 1971. At this time last year, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.19 percent before climbing to a 2011 high of 5.05 percent in February.

For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, rates averaged 3.37 percent with an average 0.8 point, up from 3.26 percent last week, a low in records dating to 1991. A year ago, rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.62 percent, before climbing to a 2011 high of 4.29 percent in February.

courtsey of Inman News...