30-Year, Fixed-Rate Mortgages Hit 5-Month High, Averaging 7.31%

Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.31% this week, the highest in five months, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Wednesday.

This week’s average was up from 7.08% a week ago and the highest since rates averaged 7.34% during the week of July 24.

The average hit a 25-year low of 6.74% last month but has been above 7% for the last four weeks.

On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 4.30%, up from 4.20% last week.

Fifteen-year mortgages, an increasingly popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 6.84% this week, up from 6.62% a week earlier.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.