Mortgage Rates Follow Bond Yields Higher

Mortgage rates moved higher this week off the previous week's record lows as Treasury bond yields rose and other housing data showed improvement. One anomaly was the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage, which declined one-tenths of a percentage point to set a new all-time low.

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New data released by ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com Thursday shows that for the week ending August 25, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.22 percent (0.7 point). That's up from 4.15 percent last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year rate was averaging 4.36 percent.

The average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage came in at 3.44 percent (0.6 point) this week, rising from 3.36 percent last week. Twelve months ago, the 15-year rate averaged 3.86 percent.

The 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) slipped from 3.08 percent last week to 3.07 percent (0.5 point) this week. That marks a record low for the 5-year ARM in Freddie’s study. At this time last year, it was averaging 3.56 percent.

The 1-year ARM, on the other hand, rose from 2.86 percent last week to 2.93 percent (0.5 point). Last year at this time, it was 3.52 percent.

Freddie Mac’s ""weekly mortgage rate survey"":http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/ is based on data gathered from about 125 lenders across the country