Rates Climb Further

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 5.52% for the week ending July 11 from 5.40% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 4.75% to 4.85%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages rose from 3.49% to 3.55%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 points for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.7 points for ARMs. "Although mortgage rates rose this week, they are still about 1% lower than they were at this time last year, which has led to the current frenzy of refinancing," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "As a matter of fact, over the first six months of the year, applications for refinancing are running over 100% above last year's pace, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.54% and 6.00%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.66%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.