Mortgage Rates Rise for 1st Time in 10 Weeks

Average interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages jumped to 7.46% this week, after hitting a 17 1/2-month low of 7.36% a week earlier, the lowest since Feb. 22, 1996, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said. It is the first increase in 10 weeks. So far this year, the average’s peak is the 8.18% for the week ended April 3, after the Federal Reserve Board tightened monetary policy. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 7% this week, up from 6.9% a week earlier, the lowest since March 7, 1996. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.53% this week, up from 5.49% last week. The rates do not include points.