Washington, DC CNN  — 

US mortgage rates moved higher this week following the Federal Reserve’s rate hike, after dropping last week.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.81% in the week ending July 27, up from 6.78% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 5.30%.

The average mortgage rate is based on mortgage applications that Freddie Mac receives from thousands of lenders across the country. The survey includes only borrowers who put 20% down and have excellent credit.

“Mortgage rates inched up slightly after a significant decline last week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Higher interest rates continue to dampen activity in the interest-rate sensitive sector of housing, he said. Existing home sales and sales of newly constructed homes were down in June as higher rates have been keeping inventory low, prices higher and hurting affordability.

“However, overall US consumer confidence is unwavering, surging to a two-year high in the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for July,” Khater said. “Rising consumer confidence often leads to greater spending, which could drive more consumers into the housing market.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.