Long-, Short-Term Interest Rates Inch Up

Mortgage rates inched up this week after having slipped for three straight weeks. The average interest rate on 30-year mortgages rose to 8.24% for the week, up from 8.23% the week ended March 10, according to a weekly survey released by Freddie Mac, the mortgage company. In mid-February, rates on 30-year mortgages hit a 3 1/2-year high of 8.38%. That was the highest since an 8.42% rate for the week ended July 12, 1996. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, also rose this week with an average rate of 7.83%, compared with the average rate of 7.81% last week. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6.68% this week, unchanged from the previous week. The rates do not include points, which averaged at or just more than 1% of the loan amount for all three types of mortgages.

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