Mortgage rates closed out December—and the year—with one final, small increase, the Federal Housing Finance Agency [1] (FHFA) reported.
FHFA’s national data [2] for December shows the contract interest rate on the composite of all mortgage loans was 4.25 percent, an increase of 3 basis points from the month prior.
For the same month in 2012, the index rate was 3.29 percent.
Interest rates are typically locked in 30-45 days before a loan is closing—meaning December’s data reflect market rates from mid- to late November, FHFA says.
The effective interest rate, which accounts for initial fees and charges over the life of the mortgage, rose 2 basis points to 4.40 percent.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan with a conventional loan balance was 4.54 percent, up 6 basis points.
Meanwhile, loan amounts saw a substantial leap. The average loan amount for all loans in December was $277,600, up nearly $13,000 from November.