30-Year Mortgage Rates Climb

Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.57% this week, posting their first increase in nearly two months, according to a national survey by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. The average was up from 7.44% last week and was the highest since Nov. 14, when rates averaged 7.59%. Until Thursday, rates had fallen each week since reaching 7.88% on Oct. 17. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.52%, up from 5.47% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.06% this week, up from 6.96% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.