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Mortgage rates up a bit
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October 18, 2001: 1:07 p.m. ET
Long-term rates up .03 percent, while one-year ARMs hold steady.
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Mortgage rates this week rose slightly from the previous week, breaking a six-week decline, with one-year adjustable-rate mortgages holding steady.
According to Freddie Mac, the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage gained .03 percent from the previous week, up to 6.61 from 6.58 percent Oct. 10, and was down from 7.38 percent in the same week last year.
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The average this week for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.09 percent, with an average .03 percent up from last week. A year ago, the same rate stood at 7.50 percent.
One-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.26 percent, unchanged from last week's average. The same mortgage averaged 7.25 percent at this time last year.
"To everyone's surprise, housing starts increased in September, even though half of the figures were gathered after the September 11 attacks," said Robert Van Order, Freddie Mac chief economist. "However, permits for new construction fell in the same months, suggesting that the housing industry is losing momentum as the year heads into its final quarter."
"We are expecting the slowdown in housing will not be severe, and expect sales to rebound nicely by the second half of next year," Van Order added. "In the meantime, mortgage rates should remain at or below seven percent well into 2000, which will keep housing affordable and still active during this slower period."
[Click here for a breakdown of U.S. mortgage rates by region]
Freddie Mac (FRE: Research, Estimates), or Federal Home Mortgage Corp., is a publicly traded company the government established in 1970 to provide a flow of funds to mortgage lenders.
It buys mortgages from banks, bundles them and then resells them as mortgage-backed securities. Its products, and the products of other similar entities, have become increasingly popular as an alternative to government-backed bonds, particularly with international investors. 
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