Freddie Mac reported this week that mortgage rates have begun top rise a bit, albeit from deep lows, citing good data on home sales, specifically existing homes and a few mon ths of rising new-home sales.
The next day, sales data from the Census Bureau took the wind out of those sails with a report that new-home sales had fallen in December to an annual rate that came in lower than 2010.
Freddie said its Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed "average mortgage rates climbing as the housing market ended 2011 on a high note. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.98 percent reversing its previous three-week trend of setting all-time record lows."
