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Strong December jobs report pushes mortgage rates higher

By Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — A relatively strong December jobs report and the step back from the so-called fiscal cliff have sent mortgage rates to levels not seen in months, according to separate reports released Thursday.

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey found the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumping to 3.40 percent with 0.7 point from last week’s 3.34 percent. It’s the highest the 30-year has been in the Freddie Mac survey in two months.

Meanwhile, Bankrate’s national mortgage survey has the 30-year fixed-rate at 3.67 percent with 0.32 point compared to 3.58 percent a week earlier. That represents a four-month high in the Bankrate survey.

"Fixed mortgage rates increased slightly following a positive employment report for December,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said. “The economy added 155,000 jobs, above the consensus market forecast, and November's job growth was revised upward by another 24,000 workers. This helped keep the unemployment rate steady at 7.8 percent, the lowest since December 2008.

“For all of 2012, 1.86 million jobs were created and represented the largest annual gain since 2006."

Bankrate also cited the effects from the retreat from the cliff. Bankrate also said its likely to be temporary as Congress approaches the deadline for raising the debt ceiling and implementing budget cuts.

Said Bankrate: “With a contentious debate expected on raising the debt ceiling and much wrangling over spending cuts, the nervousness and uncertainty that is sure to develop will likely help bring bond yields and mortgage rates lower during the first quarter of this year. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds.”

Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also moved higher in both surveys, to 2.66 percent with 0.70 point from last week’s 2.64 percent, according to Freddie Mac, and to 2.92 percent with 0.26 point from 2.88 percent a week ago, according to Bankrate.
Despite the increase, mortgage rates remain near historical lows.

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