Rates Rise Again

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.66% to 5.73% over the seven-day period ended July 21, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate increased from 5.25% to 5.32%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages rose from 5.15% to 5.26%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs climbed from 4.39% to 4.42%. 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. "As the one-year ARM reaches its highest interest rate level in almost three years, it comes as no surprise that the ARM share, based on number of applications for a mortgage, has fallen noticeably since the beginning of June," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "And even though long-term rates rose for the third consecutive week, they still remain below 6% -- still relatively close to the phenomenally low rates we experienced in June of 2003." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.98% and 5.39%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.12%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.