Mortgage rates mixed, Freddie Mac says; 30-year fixed averages 4.14%

Mortgage trends were mixed this week, Freddie Mac’s survey of lenders showed, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan edging up to 4.14%, from 4.12% a week ago.

The average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage rose from 3.23% to 3.27%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly report, released Thursday.

Borrowers looking for the lower initial rates afforded by variable mortgages were finding slightly lower rates.

Hybrid 30-year mortgages that adjust annually after five years at a fixed rate averaged 2.98%, down from 3.01%.

Home loans that simply adjust once a year from the start were averaging 2.35%, down from 2.38%.

The rates, remarkably low by historic standards, have helped generate a surge in California home prices the last two years -- one that appears to have recently leveled off a bit in Southern California.

Freddie Mac, which has been a ward of the federal government since it imploded during the financial crisis, was set up to bolster the housing markets by buying and guaranteeing home loans made by banks and other mortgage lenders.

The McLean, Va., company, formally known as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., has been asking lenders about the terms they are offering to borrowers since 1971, a year after it was chartered by Congress.

The lenders quote rates on loans up to $417,000 for low-risk borrowers with 20% down payments or equivalent equity if they are refinancing.

Twitter: @ScottReckard