WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) — Long-term mortgage rates held at 4 percent and under in the week ending Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said.

Freddie Mac said the average interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate loans rose from 3.98 percent to 4 percent with an average of 0.7 points for the week.

A year earlier during the same week of the year, interest rates for long-term loans averaged 4.46 percent.

For 15-year loans, the rate was unchanged at 3.3 percent. Points for 15-year contracts averaged 0.8 point in the week.

A year earlier, 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.49 percent.

Rates edged higher as the Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book review of regional economic conditions noted “the residential real estate market generally remained sluggish through the first half of the fourth quarter,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

However, “The extraordinarily low mortgage rates of the past month may provide a needed spur to housing activity,” he said.