Rates Climb

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.13% to 6.18% over the seven-day period ended Dec. 28, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.89% to 5.93%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages climbed from 5.96% to 5.98%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs increased from 5.44% to 5.47%, Freddie Mac reported. Fees and points averaged 0.4 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages, 0.5 of a point for hybrid ARMs, and 0.6 of a point for one-year ARMs. "Mortgage rates edged up over the week following news of a jump in consumer spending in November," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Financial markets were concerned that stronger spending could keep inflation elevated. These worries were further compounded by the releases of new- and existing-home sales for the same month, which both exceeded market forecasts and caused Treasury bond yields to continue to rise." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.22% and 5.76%, respectively, and the average hybrid and one-year ARM rates were 5.79% and 5.15%, respectively, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.