Fixed Rates Rose In the Latest Week
Dow Jones Newswires</br></br>NEW YORK -- Rates of long-term fixed-rate home mortgages rose this week, according to the primary market survey by Freddie Mac, the housing-finance agency.</br></br>Freddie Mac attributed the rise in mortgage rates to improved sentiment in financial markets that growth in the final quarter of 2004 will be strong. "Of course, with the signs of strong growth come fears of inflation, and that tends to push up long-term mortgage rates," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist, in a statement.</br></br>The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate rose to 5.81% from 5.72% in the week. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 5.89%.</br></br>The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate rose to 5.23% from 5.15%. A year ago, this rate stood at 5.22%.