Freddie Survey Finds Rates Increased

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.20% from 5.14% during the week ended July 23, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. "Mortgage interest rates were mixed this past week with fixed-rate loans averaging somewhat higher while initial rates on ARMs were flat-to-down slightly," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.68%, up from the previous week when it averaged 4.63%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.18%. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.74%, down from the previous week when they averaged 4.83%. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 5.49%. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.77%, up slightly from the previous week when they averaged 4.76%. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 5.49%. Average points for almost all the aforementioned loans were 0.7. The exception was the one-year Treasury ARM, for which the average was 0.6.