Mortgage Rates Up This Week; 30-Year Fixed At 5.25% -Freddie

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Mortgage rates rose again this week as housing sales continue to pick up, according to Freddie Mac's (FRE) weekly survey of mortgage rates.

Sales have increased for several straight months, giving increased hope that the housing market may have finally bottomed. Meanwhile, it was disclosed this week that a closely watched home-price indicator rose for the first time in nearly three years.

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.25% for the week ended Thursday, up from last week's 5.2% average and down from 6.52% a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.69%, up from 4.68% last week and down from 6.07% a year earlier.

Five-year, Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.75%, up from last week's 4.74% and down from 6.07% a year earlier. One-year, Treasury-indexed ARMs were 4.8%, up from 4.77% last week and down from 5.27% last year.

To obtain the rates, the fixed-rate mortgages required payment of an average 0.7 point, the five-year adjustable-rate required an average 0.6 and the one-year ARM required an average 0.5 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.

-By Kerry Grace Benn, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2353; [e-mail]