Mortgage rates climb upward 3rd week in row

By Jeannine Aversa
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Mortgage rates around the country moved up for the third week in a row, with rates on 30-year mortgages climbing to their highest level since late October.

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 6.19 percent for the week ending today, the Federal Home Mortgage Corp. reported yesterday. That was up from 6.13 percent in the previous week and marked the highest rate since the week ending Oct. 25 when 30-year rates averaged 6.31 percent.

Even with the recent upticks, mortgage rates are still low enough to continue to keep the housing market healthy, economists said.

Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped to 5.94 percent for the week ending Nov. 15, the lowest since the mortgage giant, commonly known as Freddie Mac, began tracking 30-year mortgage rates in 1971. It also marked the seventh time this year that rates on this benchmark mortgage hit a new low.

For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, interest rates increased to 5.60 percent this week, up from last week's 5.57 percent.

Low mortgage rates this year have been feeding a refinancing boom. The extra monthly cash consumers are saving by refinancing their mortgages at lower interest rates is helping to support consumer spending, which has been the main force keeping the economy going this year.

"Consumer spending has kept the economy moving, and when initial holiday sales were better than expected, financial markets reacted with enthusiasm," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "It was this potential pickup in the economy that caused interest rates, including mortgage rates, to drift upwards this week."

Home sales — powered by low mortgage rates — are expected to post records this year .