Mortgage Rates Inch Up for the Week

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.72% this week, up from 5.7% last week, mortgage company Freddie Mac reported.

For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, rates rose to 5.12%, up from 5.1% last week. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages slipped to 3.97%, compared with 4% the previous week.

The nationwide averages for mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. All three mortgage categories carried a 0.6-point fee.

From Associated Press

* The cost of funds index for savings institutions in the Federal Home Loan Bank’s 11th District edged higher in August to 1.875% from 1.816% in July. 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.