Fixed, Adjustable-Rate Mortgages Edge Up

Mortgage rates around the country edged up this week, but rates for 30-year and 15-year mortgages were still more than 1 percentage point lower than they were last year. The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 7.14%, up from 7.12% last week, according to a nationwide survey released by mortgage company Freddie Mac. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, rose to 6.66%, up from 6.63% last week. At the same time last year, rates for 30-year mortgages stood at 8.28% and rates on 15-year mortgages averaged 7.94%. Thirty-year mortgages hit a five-year high of 8.64% in mid-May. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6%, compared with 5.97% the week before. Last year, one-year ARMs averaged 6.90%. These rates do not include add-on fees known as points, which averaged about 1% of the loan amount for all three types of mortgages.