LoginFixed mortgage rates broke with a six week trend and increased between May 2, 2013 and May 9, 2013, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage climbed to 3.42 percent from 3.35 percent a week earlier. The rate on a 15-year mortgage rebounded from falling to a record low rate of 2.56 percent, rising to 2.61 percent during the week that ended May 9.
"Fixed mortgage rates edged up following a solid employment report for April. The economy gained 165,000 new jobs on net last month, more than the market consensus forecast and the largest monthly increase this year," said Freddie's chief economist Frank Nothaft.
He went on to note that April's figures taken in combination with revisions that inflated employment reports from both February and March are all good signals that the economy is starting to pick up strength.
Mortgage activity, on the strength of better economic indicators and record low borrowing costs, has been on the rise over the last month. Home prices have also been on the upswing and were over 10 percent higher in March 2013 than they were in March 2012. Though the cost of borrowing was up week-to-week in early Mary 2013, annually mortgage rates were still below their May 2012 level of 3.83 percent.