This March 21, 2014 photo shows a home for sale in North Andover, Mass. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates on Thursday, April 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) (The Associated Press)
WASHINGTON – Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages rose this week with the spring home-buying season beginning.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for the 30-year loan rose to 4.33 percent from 4.27 percent last week. The average for the 15-year mortgage increased to 3.39 percent from 3.33 percent.
Mortgage rates have risen almost a full percentage point since hitting record lows about a year ago.
Warmer weather has yet to boost home-buying as it normally does. Rising prices and higher rates have made affordability a problem for would-be buyers.
Sales of new homes fell 14.5 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Purchases of existing homes also declined last month, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
