Fixed-Mortgage Rates Spike This Week On Treasurys Sell-Off

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Long-range fixed mortgage rates surged this week, following the recent yield gains on similar-length Treasurys, pushing the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages above 5% and reaching a six-month high, according to Freddie Mac's (FRE) weekly survey of mortgage rates released Thursday.

Mortgage rates had fallen in recent months as providers try to entice buyers amid the housing market downturn. But Treasurys have continued to fall in price amid worries of the flood of supply being sold by the federal government to finance its ballooning deficit.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.29% for the week ended Thursday, up from last week's 4.91% average but down from 6.09% a year earlier. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.79%, up from 4.53%. The prior-year average was 5.65%.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.85%, up from 4.82% last week and well below their 5.51% average a year ago. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs were 4.81%, compared with 4.69% and 5.06%, respectively.

To obtain the rates, the fixed-rate mortgages required payment of an average 0.7 point and the adjustable-rate mortgages required an average 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.

-By Kerry E. Grace and Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5089; [e-mail]