Average rate on 30 year US mortgage rises to 3.4%

The average rate of a 30 year fixed rate mortgage increased slightly to 3.40% from 3.39% last week and the typical 15 year mortgage also changed marginally to 2.69%. Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac, explained how the rates were related to the job market. He was quoted as saying: "Mortgage rates remained near record lows following the employment report for October. The economy added 171,000 jobs, above the market consensus forecast, and the two prior months were revised up a combined 84,000. “The Labour Department also reported that the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% and that average hourly wages were unchanged." November 9, 2012