NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Mortgage rates rose for the third consecutive week on a nudge from a recovering economy, a survey showed Thursday.

According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year long-term mortgage averaged 7.14 percent for the week ending March 22, with an average 0.7 payable up front to the lender. The rate was up from last week's 7.08 percent. The mortgage rate averaged 6.89 at this time last year.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.65 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, also higher than last week's average 6.59 percent. The rate averaged 6.44 percent during the same week a year ago.

(For more on interest rates, check out CNN/Money's Bond & Rate center.)

At the same time, one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) indexed to the Treasury averaged 5.11 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, a slight increase from last week's average 5.08 percent. Last year at the same time, the rate averaged 6.22 percent.

"Housing starts in February rose to a three-year record high surprising most industry analysts," said Robert Van Order, Freddie Mac chief international economist. "And that information supports the idea that the housing industry continues to prop up the overall economy as it makes a modest recovery from the recent short recession."

Van Order added that existing home sales numbers for February are expected to be lower and that the increase in mortgage rates will cause a weaker housing market overall in 2002 than 2001.

Freddie Mac (FRE: down $0.12 to $63.28, 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.