Fixed Rates Inch Up Further

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.32% for the week ending June 18 from 6.30% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.67% to 5.70%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs slipped from 4.14% to 4.13%. Fees and points averaged 0.5 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.7 of a point for ARMs. "The recent increase in mortgage rates has given the housing market a slight breather from the frantic pace in lending that has been prevalent over the last few years," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "That said, housing starts -- although down a little from the month before -- were still remarkably strong in May, with most of the decrease in overall construction coming from a dropoff in multi-unit building. Construction of new single-family homes, however, actually increased to the highest level since December." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.21% and 4.60%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.54%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.