30-year rate rises to 5.62%, 15-year climbs to 5.14%, while 5-year up for the first time in 4 weeks. February 17, 2005: 12:21 PM EST
Current Mortgage Rates
Type
Overnight avgs
30 yr fixed mtg
5.34%
15 yr fixed mtg
4.86%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg
6.51%
5/1 ARM
4.56%
5/1 jumbo ARM
5.25%
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Long-term mortgage rates turned higher for the first time this year, Freddie Mac said on Thursday. The average five-year adjustable-rate also showed the first increase in four weeks.
In the week ending Feb. 17, the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 5.62 percent, with an average 0.7 of a point payable up front, up from 5.57 percent the previous week. A year earlier, the rate on the 30-year fixed-rate loan stood at 5.58 percent.
The average 15-year mortgage rate averaged 5.14 percent, with a 0.7 percent payable up front, up from 5.10 percent in the previous week. A year ago, the 15-year rate averaged 4.87 percent.
Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.05 percent, with an average 0.7 point payable up front, up from 4.99 percent in the previous week. There is no data available for a year-to-year comparisons since Freddie Mac only began tracking this mortgage rate at the start of 2005.
One-year adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 4.15 percent, up from last week's 4.11 percent, with 0.8 of a point payable up front. At this time last year, the one-year ARM rate averaged 3.53 percent.
"Mixed economic indicators can push the market up or down, depending on the timing of the release, and that's what we saw happen this week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "The market seemed to focus on the positive, causing mortgage rates to inch up.
"That said, January housing starts were the highest in over 20 years, and that is based on higher rates than we are currently experiencing," added Nothaft. "All in all, the little run-up in rates that occurred this week will not be enough to cause a significant slowdown in current housing market activity."
Freddie Mac's (down $1.19 to $64.70, Research) average mortgage rates are based on a survey of 125 lenders nationwide.
