30-Year Mortgage Rates Jump to 7.23%

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages jumped to its highest level since November 1997 this week to 7.23% from 7.1% the previous week, mortgage company Freddie Mac said. The increase was an expected reaction to the announcement by Federal Reserve officials Tuesday that they were leaning toward raising interest rates if signs of inflation continue to show up in the U.S. economy. Before March, mortgage rates had held below 7% since last summer. This week’s rise--the sharpest of five straight--brought the 30-year mortgage rate to its highest level since the first week in November 1997. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, averaged 6.83% this week, up from 6.71%. That is the highest since 15-year rates were at 6.85% during the last week of April 1998. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.76% this week, up from 5.71% the week before. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points, which averaged at or just over 1% of the loan amount for all three types of mortgages.