National mortgage rates mixed

WASHINGTON — The mortgage rate picture this week was mixed. Rates on 30-year and 15-year mortgages went up, while rates on one-year adjustable mortgages went down.

Freddie Mac’s weekly survey released Wednesday showed rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.75 percent, compared with 5.68 percent last week.

Rates on 30-year mortgages hit a high this year of 6.34 percent the week of May 13. They slowly drifted downward as the economy hit a late spring-early summer soft spot. Recent economic data suggest the economy is expanding at a solid pace.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages — a popular option for refinancing — rose to 5.18 percent this week, up from 5.11 percent last week.

This week’s 30-year and 15-year rates were the highest since the beginning of December. Long-term mortgage rates have remained well behaved even as the Fed boosted short-term interest rates five times this year. That’s because inflation, while creeping higher, is not currently viewed as a danger to the economy, analysts say.

One-year adjustable rate mortgages, meanwhile, dipped slightly to 4.17 percent this week, compared with 4.18 percent last week.

The nationwide averages for mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Each loan type carried a 0.6 point fee.

A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages averaged 5.82 percent with 15-year mortgages at 5.14 percent and one-year ARMs at 3.77 percent.

Low mortgage rates have supported home sales, which are expected to hit record highs for all of 2004.