Rate Rise Accelerates

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate spiked to 5.94% for the week ending July 25 from 5.67% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate jumped from 5.00% to 5.27%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages rose from 3.58% to 3.67%. Fees and points averaged 0.4 points for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and 0.5 points for ARMs and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages. "Mortgage rates rose again for the third consecutive week, bringing long-term rates to about the same levels we saw at the start of the year," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "This may start to apply the brakes to the frenzy of refinancing that we are currently experiencing." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.49% and 5.93%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.50%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.