Rates Climb

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.35% to 6.43% over the seven-day period ended April 6, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.00% to 6.10%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages increased from 6.02% to 6.11%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs climbed from 5.51% to 5.57%, Freddie Mac reported. Fees and points averaged 0.5 of a point for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, 0.6 of a point for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and hybrid ARMs, and 0.7 of a point for one-year ARMs. "In the first quarter of 2006, it appears that economic growth picked up relative to the last three months of 2005," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "There is concern that the continued high level of energy costs may lead to inflation in other sectors of the economy. And fear of inflation leads to higher mortgage rates, like the ones we see this week." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.93% and 5.48%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.23%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.