Mortgage Rates Up Sharply This Week

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbed this week to 5.81%, up from 5.72% last week, mortgage company Freddie Mac said.

For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, rates averaged 5.23% compared with 5.15% last week. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages sank to 4.19% from last week’s rate of 4.27%.

The nationwide averages for mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Each loan type carried a 0.6-point fee.

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* The cost-of-funds index for savings institutions in the Federal Home Loan Bank’s 11th District edged higher in October to 1.960% from 1.931% in September. The index is a popular benchmark for adjustable-rate mortgages on the West Coast and tends to lag behind changes in market interest rates by several months.