Fixed Mortgage Rates Edge Higher

Average interest rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages inched up to 7.35% this week, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. The increase, from 7.34% a week earlier, was the second in a row since the average hit a 20-month low of 7.26%. Rates have fluctuated this year, depending on financial markets’ nervousness about inflation. This year’s peak was 8.18% during the week ended April 3. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, averaged 6.90% this week, up from 6.89%. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.55%, the same as last week. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.