U.S. mortgage rates rise in week

Interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate U.S. mortgages rose in the previous week, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.29 percent with an average 0.7 points in the week ending Aug. 13, Freddie Mac said.

A week ago, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.22 percent. A year ago, they averaged 6.52 percent.

At 4.68 percent with an average 0.7 points, the 15-year, fixed-rate average also rose, climbing from the previous week’s average of 4.63 percent. A year ago, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.02 percent, the report said.

Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft said the recent decline in national unemployment rate, from 9.5 to 9.4 percent, may be in step with a bottoming out in housing markets.

Declines in some local housing markets may be nearing an end as well, he said, noting median existing home prices have risen in 17 percent of major cities in the second quarter compared to a year ago.