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It is important to note that we are also seeing a moderation in the average mortgage rates of house price appreciation, and that should help counter higher mortgage rates, keep housing affordable and the industry busy. The total amount of each mortgage considered for the survey doesn't exceed a $322,700 limit. Freddie Mac's average mortgage rates are based on a survey of 125 lenders nationwide. The average mortgage rates continue to climb. The rates include those on mortgages accepted by borrowers with good credit ratings who place a 20 percent down payment on their homes, according to Freddie Mac. According to Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac deputy chief economist. Also contributing to the current rise in rates is the growing number of favorable news reports about an upturn in economic growth.

As a result, applications for purchase mortgages have softened. Industry forecasters generally agree that by the end of the year, the rate of sales will decline from its record, and average mortgage rates growth, which has been running at 7%-plus, will slow by half. Prices started climbing sharply a couple years ago, when the Federal Reserve Bank began shaving interest rates to stimulate an ailing economy. Rising rates have home buyers and sellers worried about average mortgage rates. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is up by more than a full percentage point since June, and now stands at 6.44%. Evidence is growing that the housing market nationally has peaked.