Mortgage interest rates rise slightly

Interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate U.S. mortgages increased in the week ending May 14, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.86 percent with an average 0.6 points in the week, Freddie Mac said.

A week ago, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.84 percent. A year ago, the average rate was 6.01 percent.

At 4.52 percent with an average 0.6 points, the 15-year, fixed-rate average also rose, climbing slightly above the previous week’s average of 4.51 percent. A year ago, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.6 percent, the report said.

Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages were little changed this week, said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

However, relatively low house prices and interest rates are clearly helping first-time homebuyers, he said.

With the National Association of Realtors housing affordability index at a record high, first-time homebuyers accounted for half of existing home sales in the first three months of this year, the NAR reported, Nothaft said