Rates Creep Up on Home Loans

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbed to 7.24%, up from 7.20% last week, according to Freddie Mac, the mortgage company.

Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, rose to 6.78% this week from 6.76% last week. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.89%, up from 5.82% the week before. Last year, one-year ARMs were at a nine-year high of 7.25%. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. See chart, C7.

Separately, the Federal Home Loan Bank in San Francisco said the 11th District cost of funds edged lower to 4.946% in April from 5.198% in March. The rate, to which many adjustable rate mortgages are tied, covers the average costs of funds for savings institutions in California and elsewhere.