Long term mortgage rates rise in week

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said long-term lending rates rose slightly in the week prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.

"Fixed mortgage rates retraced some of their decline of the prior week as housing data portrayed mixed signals," Freddie Mac Vice President and chief economist Frank Nothaft said.

Recently released data show home prices rose in September, but pending home sales declined for the fifth consecutive month in October, "presaging a softening in sales near year-end," Nothaft said.

In the week, rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 4.22 percent to 4.29 percent with 0.7 point in the past week.

A year ago, rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.32 percent.

Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 3.27 percent to 3.3 percent with an average 0.7 point in the week. A year ago in the same week, 15-year fixed-rate loans averaged 2.64 percent.

Among the shorter-duration loans, rates for 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 2.94 percent this week with an average 0.5 point. Rates a week ago averaged 2.95 percent. A year ago, they averaged 2.72 percent.

Rates for 1-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate loans averaged 2.6 percent in the week, down from 2.61 percent in the previous week. One-year loans averaged 0.4 point.

Last year over the same period, rates for 1-year adjustable-rate loans averaged 2.56 percent.

One point is equal to 1 percent of the amount of the loan and is typically paid up front. It includes a corresponding discount on the loan's long-term interest rates.