30-Year Mortgage Rate Average Rises

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbed to 7.96% this week, up from 7.86% last week, and other mortgage rates rose sharply as well, mortgage company Freddie Mac reported. Mortgages rates have been on an upward climb this year; the average rate on a 30-year loan hit a low of 6.74% at the end of January and a high of 8.15% in mid-August. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 7.57% this week, up from 7.47% last week. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6.64% this week, up from 6.49% the previous week.