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The rate on 30-year fixed-rate U.S. mortgages slipped to 3.93 per cent this week.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the benchmark 30-year home loan rate was down from 3.94 per cent last week and 4.16 per cent a year ago.

The rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular with those refinancing their homes, was unchanged this week at 3.36 per cent. It was 3.37 per cent a year ago.

The rate on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 3.36 per cent from 3.35 per cent last week and 3.19 per cent a year ago.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates for the third time in 2017. "The market had already priced in the rate hike, so long-term interest rates, including mortgage rates, hardly moved," said Len Kiefer, a Freddie Mac economist.