30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Rises to 7.04%

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 7.04% this week from 7.01% last week, Freddie Mac said. A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 8.12%. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, ticked up to 6.55% from 6.54%. A year ago, 15-year mortgages averaged 7.76%. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6.15%, compared with 6.23% the week before. This week’s rate was the lowest since the week ended Oct. 1, 1999, when it was 6.12%. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points, which averaged 1% of the loan amount for all three types of mortgages.