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May 30, 2014 – The Federal Housing Finance Agency says an index of new mortgage contracts shows interest rates on mortgages went up a slight 0.02 percent in April.

The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes By Combined Lenders is an index based on the agency's Monthly Interest Rate Survey. The index for loans closed in April was 4.24 percent, and the contract rate on the composite of all mortgage loans was 4.23 percent – up from 4.22 percent in March.

The agency said the index's data for April reflects market rates from mid- to late-March, when the interest rates were locked before closing the loan.

The agency's survey also showed that the average interest rate on a conventional 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage of $417,000 or less was 4.53 in April, which was an increase of 2 basis points. The average loan given in April was for $283,800, which is an increase from the average of $278,500 in March. The agency said its March data are based on numbers from savings associations, mortgage companies, commercial banks and mutual savings banks.