Mortgage Rates Rise From 19-Month Low

Average interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 7.31% this week, a slight increase from the previous week’s 19-month low. The average increased from 7.28%, its lowest since the week ended Feb. 15, 1996, Freddie Mac said. Rates have fluctuated this year with financial markets’ nervousness about inflation. This year’s peak was 8.18% during the week ended April 3, after the Federal Reserve Board last tightened monetary policy. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 6.87% this week, up from 6.86%. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.52%, up from 5.51%. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.