Rates Keep Climbing

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumped to 5.67% for the week ending July 18 from 5.52% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate climbed from 4.85% to 5.00%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages rose from 3.55% to 3.58%. Fees and points averaged 0.5 points for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.6 points for ARMs. "Federal Reserve Board Chairman Greenspan told Congress that he's optimistic that the economy will take off in the second half of this year," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "This was seen as a sign that there was no more need for any additional rate cuts. In response, bond yields rose dramatically, taking mortgage rates up with them." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.49% and 5.93%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.50%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.