Rates Rise

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.28% to 6.30% over the seven-day period ended Feb. 15, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 6.02% to 6.03%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages climbed from 5.99% to 6.01%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs increased from 5.49% to 5.52%, 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. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said mortgage rates held nearly steady because there was "little new information" to prompt a big change, noting that retail sales were "virtually unchanged" in January. A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.28% and 5.91%, respectively, and the average hybrid and one-year ARM rates were 5.95% and 5.36%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.