DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Mortgage rates were mixed this week, but the average rate on
30-year fixed-rate mortgages moved further above 5%, according to
Freddie Mac's (FRE) weekly survey of mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates had fallen earlier this year as providers try to
entice buyers amid the housing market downturn, but yields on
Treasurys have jumped the past month, helping push mortgage rates
higher.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.2% for the week ended
Thursday, up from last week's 5.14% average and down from 6.63% a
year ago.
Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.68%, up from 4.63%
last week and down from 6.18% a year earlier.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages
averaged 4.74%, down from last week's 4.83% and 5.49% a year
earlier. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs were 4.77%, up from 4.76%
last week and down from 5.49% last year.
To obtain the rates, the fixed-rate mortgages and the five-year
adjustable-rate mortgage required payment of an average 0.7 point,
and the one-year ARM required an average 0.6 point. A point is 1%
of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.
-By Kerry Grace Benn, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2353;
kerry.benn@dowjones.com