Rates Rise

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.03% for the week ending Nov. 14 from 5.98% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.32% to 5.39%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages climbed from 3.73% to 3.76%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 points for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.7 points for ARMs. "Mortgage rates remained fairly stable this week as the financial markets tried to discern just how quickly the economy is growing and how sustainable that growth will be," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Speculation that the [Federal Reserve Board] will not raise interest rates anytime soon should help restrain any upward pressure on mortgage rates. ARM rates in particular will continue to be very attractive to some homeowners and homebuyers." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.94% and 5.32%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.09%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.