30-year rate climbs to 5.95%, 15-year rises to 5.47%; 1-year slips to 4.20% from last week's 4.24%. March 17, 2005: 11:59 AM EST
Current Mortgage Rates
Type
Overall avgs
30 yr fixed mtg
6.39%
15 yr fixed mtg
5.95%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg
7.56%
5/1 ARM
5.91%
5/1 jumbo ARM
6.37%
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Long-term mortgage rates jumped to 7-month highs for the week ending March 17, Freddie Mac said on Thursday. But the average one-year adjustable-rate slipped.
The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbed to 5.95 percent, with an average 0.7 of a point payable up front, up from 5.85 percent the previous week. Last year at this time, the rate on the 30-year fixed-rate loan stood at 5.38 percent.
The average 15-year mortgage rate averaged 5.47 percent, with a 0.7 percent payable up front, up from 5.38 percent in the previous week. A year ago, the 15-year rate averaged 4.69 percent.
Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.31 percent, with an average 0.7 point payable up front, up from 5.22 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 4.20 percent, down from last week's 4.24 percent, with 0.8 of a point payable up front. At this time last year, the one-year ARM rate averaged 3.39 percent.
"The 30-year mortgage rate in February was uncommonly low and the weather tame across much of the country. That combination pushed housing starts in February to a 21-year high," said Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist. "But we will probably see some moderation in the housing sector as mortgage rates slowly rise in coming months.
"Meanwhile, oil prices hit a record high while inventory of gasoline and heating oil was lower than expected. This raises the fear of inflation, which kept continued upward pressure on interest rates and helped fuel the rise in mortgage rates for the fifth continuous week," she added.
Freddie Mac's (down $1.09 to $63.36, Research) average mortgage rates are based on a survey of 125 lenders nationwide.
