Mortgage Rates are on the Rise This Week

After months of enjoying drops and plateaus with mortgage rates, it is somewhat disconcerting to see that those rates are beginning to rise once again. We have seen those mortgage rates drop as low as they have ever been so we really can’t complain about how they have inched up steadily over the last couple weeks. Here are the average mortgage rates as they stand right now.

* The average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan went from 4.40 percent last week to 4.46 percent this week. It was only three weeks ago when the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stood at 4.17 percent. That number is the lowest it has been since the early 1970s.

* For a 15-year fixed rate loan, the average rate went from 3.77 percent last week to 3.81 percent this week. A month ago, the rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage was 3.57 percent. That was the lowest that figure has been since 1991 when the survey started.


* Adjustable rate mortgages also increased slightly over the past week. For a 5/1 ARM this week, you can expect to pay an average of 3.1 percent. That’s nearly one-tenth of an increase over last week’s average figure or 3.01 percent.


On the bright side, however, Freddie Mac says that these mortgage rates are going to stay fairly low throughout the year and well into 2011. While rates for a 30-year fixed rate may increase slightly, they should still stay below 5 percent according to one of the mortgage giant’s leading economists. He also stated that rates for an adjustable mortgage are likely to stay below 4 percent throughout 2010 and much of 2011. Along with this good news, the economist for Freddie Mac also believes the housing market is going to get better in 2011 with more home sales throughout the year even though those sales figures will bottom out during the first part of 2011.