Key Mortgage Rate Moves Higher

The 11th District cost of funds--the rate to which many adjustable-rate home mortgages are tied--rose to 4.780% in March from 4.759% in February, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco reported. Despite the increase, the rate remains below its level of a year ago, when it stood at 4.874%. The rate, which tends to lag changes in market interest rates by several months, measures the average cost of funds to thrifts and other financial institutions in the bank’s 11th District, which covers California, Arizona and Nevada.