DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Mortgage rates edged higher this week, with the average rate on
30-year fixed-rate mortgages pushing back above 5%, according to
Freddie Mac's (FRE) weekly survey of mortgage rates.
Treasury yields, which hit multi-decade lows earlier this year,
have been creeping up recently after they retraced down from a big
rebound in the summer. Mortgage rates tend to follow Treasury
yields.
Earlier this week, the S&P Case-Shiller index showed U.S.
home prices increased for the fourth consecutive month in August,
and the Commerce Department said last week that new-home building
rose a third time in four months during September. However, the
gain in September building failed to erase all the declines in
August.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.03% for the week
ended Thursday, up from last week's 5% average but down from 6.46%
a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.46%, up
from 4.43% last week but falling from 6.19% a year earlier.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages
averaged 4.42%, up from last week's 4.4% and down from 6.36% a year
earlier. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs were 4.57%, up from 4.54%
last week but down from a year-earlier 5.38%.
To obtain the rates, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage required
payment of an average 0.7 point, while the rest required an average
0.6 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid
interest.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com