Fixed Rates Inch Up

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.72% for the week ending Oct. 1 from 5.70% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.10% to 5.12%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs declined from 4.00% to 3.97%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 of a point for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and 0.6 of a point for ARMs and 15-year FRMs. "Mortgage rates didn't move much this week, keeping us on target with industry forecasts for the year," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Our forecast is for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate to remain below 6% for the rest of the year and not much higher than that for 2005." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.98% and 5.30%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.77%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.