Rates Jump

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.15% to 6.31% over the seven-day period ended Nov. 3, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate increased from 5.69% to 5.85%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages rose from 5.63% to 5.76%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs climbed from 4.91% to 5.09% (its highest level since March 2002). Fees and points averaged 0.5 of a point for all mortgage categories. "Based on preliminary [gross domestic product] figures for the third quarter, the economy is expanding faster than had been expected," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Originally, the markets had lowered economic expectations for the third quarter because of the impact of the hurricanes. So the news of an economy growing at such a strong pace gave financial markets a jolt and added to the impetus that caused mortgage rates to rise again this week." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.70% and 5.08%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.00%, Freddie Mac said.