Washington, Feb 15 (IANS) US fixed mortgage rates remained unchanged this week and continued to support the housing recovery, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey released by Freddie Mac.
The mortgage giant said that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) stayed at 3.53 percent in the week ending Feb 14, the same as last week. The 15-year FRM, a popular choice for those looking to refinance, was also unchanged from the previous week's figure of 2.77 percent, reported Xinhua.
Both were up slightly from the record lows of 3.31 percent and 2.63 percent, but remained at an affordable level for house buying and refinancing.
In addition, the five-year US Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) rose to 2.64 percent, while the one-year Treasury-indexed ARM increased to 2.61 percent.
"Mortgage rates remain near record lows and continue to support housing demand, translating into a pick-up in home prices in most markets," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac.
Recent data indicate that the housing sector has become a bright spot in the US economy since home prices began to climb in 2012 following years of historic declines.
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