Mortgage Rates Climb

Mortgage rates around the country climbed last week as Wall Street investors responded to some encouraging signs that the economy is gaining traction.

Rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.76 percent for the week ending Nov. 11, Freddie Mac said in its weekly survey released Thursday. That was up from 5.70 percent last week.

This year, rates on 30-year mortgages hit a high of 6.34 percent the week of May 13. After that, rates bounced around but drifted lower as economic activity cooled a bit and inflation fears eased.

Recently, Wall Street investors were buoyed by a government report, issued on Nov. 5, that showed the economy added a sizable 337,000 jobs in October, the most in seven months.

"October's fervent job growth statistics ... led financial markets to believe the economy is picking up steam," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "The end result translates into higher long-term mortgage rates this week."

Even with the increase, though, mortgage rates remain low by historic standards, analysts said.

For 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, , rates rose this week to 5.16 percent, up from 5.08 percent last week.

For one-year adjustable rate mortgages, rates averaged 4.16 percent last week, compared with 4 percent the previous week. The increase in rates for short-term ARMs is related to the Federal Reserve's decision Wednesday to boost a key short-term rate one-quarter percentage point, to 2 percent.

Nationwide averages for mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Each loan type carried a 0.6-point fee.

Low mortgage rates have aided the housing market. It's expected to see record-high sales for all of 2004.

A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages averaged 5.98 percent, 15-year mortgages were at 5.31 percent and one-year ARMs averaged 3.73 percent.