Rates on 30-year mortgages inched higher last week after two straight weeks of record lows, but still remained at attractive levels for borrowers looking to refinance their home loans.
Freddie Mac said Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 4.87 percent last week from an average of 4.78 percent the previous week. That was the lowest in the history of Freddie Mac's survey, which dates to 1971.
Rates have been below 5 percent for four consecutive weeks and are still down by a full percentage point from a year ago.
Low rates have sparked a boom in refinancing activity, with nearly 80 percent of new home loan applications coming from borrowers seeking to refinance. Freddie Mac's sibling company, Fannie Mae, refinanced $77 billion in loans last month, nearly double February's level and the best month for such activity since 2003.
The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage inched up to 4.54 percent last week from 4.52 percent the previous week, according to Freddie Mac. Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 4.93 percent from 4.92 percent and rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 4.83 percent from 4.75 percent.
The rates do not include points. The nationwide fee averaged 0.7 of a point last week for all mortgages in Freddie Mac's survey except for one-year adjustable mortgages, which had an average fee of 0.5 of a point.
