Average mortgage rates bounce back after recent slide

Mortgage rates broke from their recent respite, increasing for only the second time in the past seven weeks, according to Freddie Mac.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.53% for the week ending July 12, inching up from last week's average of 4.52%. At this time a year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.03%. Over the past 12 months, the rate spanned 88 basis points, going as high as 4.66% on May 24, 2018 and reaching a 3.78% low on Sept. 7, 2017.

Yields on the 10-year Treasury note, a key indicator in pricing 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, keep wavering along without drastic change.

"The 10-year Treasury yield continues to hover along the same narrow range, as increased global trade tensions are causing investors to take a cautious approach," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said in a press release. "This in turn has kept borrowing costs at bay, which is certainly welcoming news for those looking to buy a home before the summer ends."

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week averaged 4.02%, up from last week’s 3.99% average. A year ago at this time, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.29%.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.86% this week with an average 0.3 point, a big jump from last week's average of 3.74%. A year ago at this time, the five-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.28%.

"Over the past two years rates have experienced long periods of stability punctuated by rapid jumps. Right now, rates appear to be in a summer lull somewhere below recent highs but still higher than they were at the start of the year. Over the next week markets will keep an eye on incoming inflation data as expected testimony in Congress by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but rates are likely to remain in the zone where they have stabilized in recent weeks," Aaron Terrazas, Zillow's senior economist, said when that company released its own rate tracker on July 11.