30-year mortgage rates now highest since June

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate home loan rose to 3.17% from 3.09% the previous week. One year ago, the benchmark rate stood at 3.5%.

The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate loans, popular among those seeking to refinance their mortgages, increased to 2.45% from 2.40% last week. It was 2.92% a year ago.

Economists have expected modest increases in home-loan rates this year, though they likely will remain low while the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates near zero until the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

Record-low lending rates have prodded buyers into the housing market, which has been one of the strengths of the economy. But a shortage in the supply of homes remains a problem and has pushed prices higher. three months last year.

Media Matters for America noted that taxpayers bankroll ads on Facebook via government agencies. Advertising analysis firm Pathmatics reported that the Census Bureau in the first six months of last year put more than $51 million, or 61% of its digital-advertising budget, into Facebook.

Facebook is facing scrutiny in Congress over its advertising dominance and was sued by the Federal Trade Commission last year in an anti-trust action. The firm has been in hot water before over the numbers it puts out for users and user activity — metrics advertisers rely on to guide spending. In 2019, without admitting wrongdoing, it paid the $40 million settlement after advertisers accused it of inflating video-viewing metrics by up to 900%.

According to market-research firm eMarketer, Facebook is on track this year to earn nearly $100 billion in digital-ads revenue and controls almost 25% of the global digital-advertising market.