The Federal Housing Finance Agency said national mortgage rates for January rose to 4.25% from 4.15% the previous month.
The average rate is calculated from the regulator’s sSurvey of purchase mortgages. The results reflect loans closed during the last week of January. Because interest rates are determined 30 to 45 days before the loan is closed, reported rates depict market conditions in December.
The contract rate of the composite of both fixed and adjustable rate mortgage loans was 4.19% in January, up from 4.13% in December. The effective interest rate was 4.31%, up from 4.24%.
Initial fees and charges amounted to 0.82% of the loan balance last month, down slighly from December. About 38% of purchase loans originated in January were no point mortgages, up 6% from December. The average term was 28.3 years in January, down about half of one year from the previous month.
The average loan-to-price ratio in January was 75.5%, down from 78.7% in December. The average loan amount was $223,000 in January, up $1,300 from December.
