Mortgage rates inched higher this week for the second week in a row, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.33 percent, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.

"Mortgage rates crept up further following the uptick in the 10-year Treasury yield as minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting indicated little possibility of a pause in the central bank's reduction of bond purchases,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. The Federal Reserve plans to wind down its $85 billion per month bond-buying stimulus program this year, which has been helping to keep mortgage rates low in recent years.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages for the week ending Feb. 20:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.33 percent, with an average 0.7 point, rising from last week’s 4.28 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.56 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.35 percent, with an average 0.7 point, rising from last week’s 3.33 percent average. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 2.77 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.08 percent, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 3.05 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.64 percent.
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.57 percent, with an average 0.3 point, increasing from last week’s 2.55 percent average. A year ago, 1-year ARMs averaged 2.65 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac