Mortgage interest rates inched up, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 2.99%, according to the latest Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey®.

Here’s where rates stand:

– 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage: Averaged 2.99% with an average 0.6 point for the week ending June 3, 2021, up from the prior week when it averaged 2.95%. Last year, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.18%.

– 15-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage: Averaged 2.27% with an average 0.6 point, unchanged from last week. Last Year, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.62%.

– 5-Year Treasury-Indexed Hybrid Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM): Averaged 2.64% with an average 0.2 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.59%. Last year, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.10%.

The takeaway:

The competitive environment continues, posing challenges for homebuyers even with the market’s low interest rates, and possibly even incentivizing would-be sellers to stay in their home and refinance instead.

While rates did tick up, they still remain historically low and under 3%—and could still soften competition if new inventory comes on.

“Home prices continue to accelerate while inventory remains low and new-home construction cannot happen fast enough,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “There are many potential homebuyers who would like to take advantage of low mortgage rates, but competition is strong. For homeowners, however, continued low rates make refinancing an option worth considering.”

Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior online editor. Email her your real estate news ideas to lizd@rismedia.com.

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