WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates held below the 5% mark for the third straight week, even as the Federal Reserve prepares to end a program that has kept rates at or near record lows.
The average for the 30-year, fixed-rate loan edged up to 4.96% this week, from 4.95% last week, according to Freddie Mac.
Long-term rates have held steady around 5% since December, kept down by the Fed's $1.25 trillion program to buy mortgage securities issued by Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae.
The Fed said this week that this program would end on March 31, as expected. But some analysts fear that once the program ends, mortgage rates could rise. That could weaken the fragile recovery in housing and the overall economy. Still, the Fed has left the door open to extending the program if the economy weakens.
ARM rates were mixed, with the average for the five-year ARM rising to 4.09%, from 4.05%; and the average for the one-year ARM falling to 4.12% from 4.22% last week.
