Mortgage rates in the United States rose this week for the fourth consecutive week, Reuters reported.

According to a recent survey released by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company, interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.14 percent for the week ending today and were the highest since the week that ended Aug. 27.

The 5.14 percent figure was up from last week’s 5.05 percent.

“Although long-term mortgage rates rose for the fourth week in a row, they still remain affordable by historical standards,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

The latest rate surpassed that of the year-ago period, when the 30-year mortgage rates averaged 5.10 percent.

Four weeks ago, the 30-year rate had fallen to 4.71 percent, the lowest since Freddie Mac began the poll in 1971.

According to Bloomberg, which cited a recent survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association, loan applications fell 11 percent for the week ended Dec. 18 to 595.8, the lowest level since October.