The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage came off its recent all-time lows to average near 3% this week.

Rates continue to remain near historic lows, said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. The all-time low for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was set in January, averaging 2.65%.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Feb. 25:

*30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.97%, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week’s 2.81% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.45%.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reversed course this week, moving up to a 2.81% average. That marks its highest point since mid-November, Freddie Mac reports.

“Economic spending has improved, due to the most recent stimulus, but supply chain shortages are causing downstream inflation, leading to higher mortgage rates,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While there are multiple temporary factors driving up rates, the underlying economic fundamentals point to rates remaining in the low 3 percent range for the year.”

Credit scores have never been higher, positioning more Americans to qualify for some of the best mortgage rates ever. Yet, nearly 10.1 million Americans remain unemployed and have skipped mortgage or debt payments. How can this be?

“It’s been bizarre with this recession to see credit scores go up,” Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, told MarketWatch.

The average purchase loan amount has reached a new record high: $402,200, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. The higher-priced segment of the housing market continues to perform strongly, the MBA says.

Mortgage amounts have been climbing to new record highs since April 2020, near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mortgage applications for home purchases were up 17% last week over last year, the MBA reports.

Mortgage rates headed back down this week, continuing to hover near all-time lows. “As the market reacts to a new administration in Washington and COVID-19-driven economic malaise, mortgage rates continued to decrease this week, just slightly,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Also, the Federal Reserve announced this week that it will leave both interest rates and its bond-buying program unchanged, both actions likely helping to keep mortgage rates low.

One in four homeowners have lived in their home for more than 20 years—the highest level that owners with that tenure has ever reached, a new Redfin study shows. That’s due in large part to the aging in place trend, which is accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Americans stay in their homes longer, housing shortages are growing. The typical homeowner in 2020 had lived in their home for 13 years, a big jump from 8.7 years a decade earlier, according to the Redfin study.

Mortgage rates started the year with a new record low. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to a 2.65% average this week, the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking such records more than 50 years ago.

This week marked the 15th record low for mortgage rates this year. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped further to an average of 2.67%, the lowest rate ever recorded by Freddie Mac, with records dating back to 1971.

The ultra-low mortgage rates are making homebuying more attractive and boosting sales activity to the highest level since 2006, economists said at the National Association of REALTORS®’ virtual Real Estate Forecast Summit on Thursday. While home prices are rising annually by double-digit percentages, mortgage payments remain more affordable due to low mortgage rates.

Could home buyers be starting to take the low rates for granted?

“Despite persistently low mortgage rates, home sales have hit a wall,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While home buyer appetite remains robust, the scarce inventory has effectively put a limit on how much higher sales can increase. Unfortunately, the record low supply combined with strong demand means home prices are rapidly escalating and eroding the benefits of the low mortgage rate environment.”