Mortgage rates increased last week

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in the United States increased slightly to 6.04 percent in the last week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

The average 30-year fixed interest rate increased from last week's average of 5.72 percent and included a points increase of 0.2 percent. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now includes an average of 0.6 points.

For the same week in 2007, 30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 6.22 percent in the United States.

Fifteen-year fixed rate mortgages also were up, with an average interest rate of 5.37 percent and 0.5 points, Freddie Mac said. In the previous week, the average was 5.55 percent and in the same week of 2007 15-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 5.96 percent.

"After trending up in the past two weeks, long-term fixed mortgage rates are back up to nearly where they were at the beginning of the year," Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Northaft said. "In contrast, average rates on adjustable-rate mortgages are about 0.5 percentage points below levels for the first week of this year."

Northaft predicted increased popularity in adjustable rate mortgages, should the gap between fixed and adjusted rates widen further.