Mortgage Rates Up, With 30-Year Fixed Above 4 Percent

Moving along side higher yields on bonds, mortgage rates continued to climb upwards, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage above the 4 percent benchmark for the first time since October 27, 2011, according Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

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""Bond yields rose over the past two weeks in part due to an improving assessment of the state of the economy by the Federal Reserve, better than expected results of commercial bank stress tests and the likelihood of a second bailout for Greece,"" said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com/.

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The 30-year fixed-rate averaged 4.08 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending March 22. Last week, the 30-year averaged 3.92 percent, and during this time last year, it averaged 4.81 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate managed to stay below 4 percent and averaged 3.30 percent (0.8 point), up from last week when it averaged 3.16 percent. Last year at this time, the 15-year fixed-rate averaged 4.04 percent.

The 5-year ARM inched up to 2.96 percent (0.7 point); last week, it averaged 2.83 percent. Like other averages, the 5-year ARM is still down compared to last year when it stood at 3.62 percent.

The 1-year ARM increased to 2.84 percent (0.6 point) this week. Last week, it averaged 2.79 percent and 3.21 percent during this time last year.

""Bankrate"":http://www.bankrate.com/, which uses data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 markets, reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed 14 basis points to 4.29 percent, a 5-month high.

The 15-year fixed-rate rose to 3.48 percent, up 10 basis points, and the five-year ARM also went up 10 basis points to 3.24 percent, according to Bankrate. The 7-year ARM moved upwards to 3.43 percent.