Rates Rise

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.62% for the week ending Feb. 18 from 5.57% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.10% to 5.14%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages climbed from 4.99% to 5.05%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs rose from 4.11% to 4.15%. Fees and points averaged 0.7 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages and five-year hybrid ARMs and 0.8 of a point for one-year ARMs. "Mixed economic indicators can push the market up or down, depending on the timing of the release, and that's what we saw happen this week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "The market seemed to focus on the positive, causing mortgage rates to inch up." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.58% and 4.87%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.53%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.