Increased economic activity and incoming inflation data were behind the most recent rate increases this week, says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The housing market is incredibly rate sensitive, so as mortgage rates increase suddenly, demand again is pulling back,” he says. “The material decline in purchase activity combined with the rising supply of homes for sale will cause a deceleration in price growth to more normal levels, providing some relief for buyers still interested in purchasing a home.”

Economists will watch the Federal Reserve’s actions closely this coming week. The central bank is largely expected to raise its key benchmark rate at its next meeting, June 14-15.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending June 9:

*30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 5.23%, with an average 0.9 point, increasing from last week’s 5.09% average. Last year at this time, they averaged 2.96%.

*15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.38%, with an average 0.8 point, rising slightly from last week’s 4.32% average. A year ago, they averaged 2.23%.

Source: Freddie Mac