Rates Climb

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.91% for the week ending March 28 from 5.79% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.11% to 5.21%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages climbed from 3.75% to 3.84%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 points for all three mortgage categories. "Following the onset of the Iraq conflict, financial markets seem to have an upward bias for mortgage rates," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Specifically, the market expects the conflict to end relatively soon, thereby allowing the business sector to shift its focus from the short term to the long term and begin activity that would spur economic growth." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 7.18% and 6.60%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 5.11%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.