Mortgage Rates in the U.S. Tick Up With 30-Year Loan at 2.93%

(Bloomberg) -- Mortgage rates in the U.S. climbed while still holding close to the record lows that have juiced up the housing market.

The average for a 30-year, fixed loan was 2.93%, up from 2.91% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. The rate has increased in three of the past four weeks after hitting a record low of 2.88% in early August.

Cheap mortgages are driving a housing rebound that’s been a key source of strength for the pandemic-battered economy. Sales of both new and existing homes have soared as the country emerged from lockdown, unleashing pent-up demand.

Yields for 10-year Treasuries, a guide for home loans, have climbed modestly in the past month while mortgage spreads have narrowed, according to Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

“Spreads may decline even further,” Khater said in the statement, “but the rise in Treasury rates will make it difficult for mortgage rates to fall much more over the next few weeks.”

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