Average 30-year mortgage rises to 6.65 percent; ARMs, 15-year mortgage also see rate rise. June 16, 2004: 3:56 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Mortgage rates rose during the week ended June 15, with the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rising to 6.65 percent.
Current Mortgage Rates
Type
Overnight avgs
30 yr fixed mtg
5.80%
15 yr fixed mtg
5.52%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg
7.15%
5/1 ARM
5.82%
5/1 jumbo ARM
6.15%
"Interest rate movements are based on the simple concept of supply and demand," said Mavel Vargas, manager of mortgage lending research at Informa Research Services. "If the demand for credit [loans] increases, so do interest rates. This is because there are more buyers, so sellers can command a better price, i.e. higher rates."
"When the economy is expanding there is a higher demand for credit, so rates move higher. A strong economy therefore results in higher real-estate prices, higher rents on apartments, and higher mortgage rates."
Rates for the benchmark 30-year loan ranged from 5.56 percent on the low end to 7.52 percent for the week, according to Informa. Looking back, rates rebounded to 6.61 percent last week after having fallen to 6.57 the previous week.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.85 percent, up from 5.81 percent last week, with a range of 4.69 percent to 6.99 percent. Rates also climbed higher last week after having slipped to 5.79 percent the week prior.
Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) leapt to 4.78 percent from 4.61 percent the previous week. ARM rates climbed steadily from 4.52 percent to 4.78 percent over the past month.
Below are the rates for three key mortgage products from five top national mortgage lenders. You can compare rates from more institutions with the rate-search tools above.