Mortgage Interest Rates Rise Slightly

The average interest rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages edged up to 7.86% this week, with other mortgage rates rising as well. The 30-year mortgage rate this week was up from 7.84% last week, Freddie Mac said. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, averaged 7.47% this week, up from 7.45% last week. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6.49% this week, also up from 6.45% the previous week. Separately, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. of America said that mortgage loan applications for the week ending Dec. 10 decreased 3.2% from the previous week and were down 46.5% compared with the same week last year.