WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Interest rates on long-term, fixed-rate mortgages jumped in the post-Thanksgiving holiday week, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.
Rates rose sharply due to "stronger than expected economic data releases," said Freddie Mac Chief Economist and Vice President Frank Nothaft.
Among the noteworthy reports, Automatic Data Processing Inc. said Wednesday the private sector added 215,000 jobs in November, considerably more than expected. New home sales in October were posted at 25 percent higher than October 2012, hitting a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000, the Commerce Department said.
In the week, rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose from 4.29 percent to 4.46 percent with a half point in the past week.
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A year ago, rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.34 percent.
Rates for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose from 3.3 percent to 3.47 percent with an average 0.4 point in the week. A year ago in the same week, 15-year, fixed-rate loans averaged 2.67 percent.
Among the shorter-duration loans, rates for five-year Treasury-indexed, hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 2.99 percent this week with an average 0.4 point. Rates a week ago averaged 2.94 percent. A year ago, they averaged 2.69 percent.
Rates for one-year Treasury-indexed, adjustable-rate loans averaged 2.59 percent in the week, down from 2.6 percent in the previous week. One-year loans averaged 0.4 point.
Last year over the same period, rates for one-year, adjustable-rate loans averaged 2.55 percent.
One point is equal to 1 percent of the amount of the loan and is typically paid up front. It includes a corresponding discount on the loan's long-term interest rates.
