After falling for the better part of two months, fixed mortgage rates are once again moving higher. Freddie Mac said on Friday that the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage edged up to 4.37 percent this week, from 4.33 percent last week. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed rate average rose to 3.39 percent, from 3.35 percent a week ago.
“Mortgage rates edged up with new home sales exceeding expectations and rising to a seasonally adjusted pace of 468,000 units in January, the strongest annual rate since July 2008,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s vice president and chief economist.