REAL ESTATE

Mortgage Rates Up Slightly: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.78% this week, up from 7.69% last week, according to a national survey released by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. It was the highest since March 21, when rates averaged 7.81%. Rates reached 9.25% on Dec. 15, 1994, before dropping to a two-year low of 6.94% in October. They then began a gradual rise. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.62%, unchanged from last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for people refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.29% this week. That was also up from 7.19% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.