US 30-Year Mortgage Rates Rise

US 30-year mortgage rates increase this week

Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:37am EST

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) -

 

 Interest rates on U.S. 30-year mortgages rose slightly this week, mortgage giant Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday.

 

U.S. 30-year mortgage rates rose to an average of 6.14 percent from 6.11 percent last week. Fifteen-year mortgages also rose slightly to an average of 5.79 percent from 5.78 percent last week.

 

One-year adjustable rate mortgages inched upward to an average of 5.51 percent from 5.50 percent, Freddie Mac said.

 

Freddie Mac said the "5/1" ARM, set at a fixed rate for five years and adjustable each following year, averaged 5.90 percent, also up from 5.89 percent last week.

 

A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 6.13 percent, 15-year mortgages averaged 5.89 percent and the one-year ARM averaged 5.44 percent. The 5/1 ARM averaged 5.96 percent.

 

"Stronger-than-expected inflation reports and retail sales for November put upward pressure on long-term interest rates late last week," Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.

 

"However, ensuing data releases suggested further weakness in the housing market over November and December and allowed interest rates to drift back down. The net effect left mortgage rates little changed this week," he said.

 

Lenders charged an average of 0.4 percent in fees and points on 30- and 15-year mortgages, both down from 0.5 percent the prior week. They charged 0.6 percent on the one-year ARM, unchanged from last week.

 

Fees and points charged on the 5/1 ARM averaged 0.5 percent, down from 0.6 percent last week.

 

Freddie Mac is a mortgage finance company chartered by Congress that buys mortgages from lenders and packages them into securities to sell to investors or to hold in its own portfolio.