Mortgage Rates Mixed in Freddie Mac, MBA Weekly Surveys

Mortgage rates continued to move upwards during the week ended February 28 according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey report released by Freddie Mac.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) climbed 20 basis points from the average 6.04 rate a week earlier although fees and points declined from 0.6 to 0.5. One year ago the 30-year FRM averaged 6.18 percent.

The average contract interest rate of the 15-year FRM was 5.72 percent with 0.5 point, up from the week before when it averaged 5.65 with 0.5 point. During the same week one year ago the average rate was 5.92 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.43 percent with an average 0.4 point. The previous week it averaged 5.37 percent with 0.5 point and during the same week in 2007 the average was 5.93 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMS rose to 5.11 percent from 4.98 percent. Points and fees also rose from 0.6 to 0.7. One year ago the rate was 5.49 percent.

"Long-term fixed mortgage rates trended up for a third week, bringing rates on 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages back to their levels of last November," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Refinancing activities, which had surged to a 12-month high in January, according to Freddie Mac's monthly refi share report, are likely to ebb following this recent rise in rates."

The Mortgage Bankers Association Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended February 29 produced different results; rates for all three products the survey tracked retreated, two of them substantially.

The 30-year FRM decreased to 5.98 percent from 6.27 percent with points (including the origination fee) unchanged at 1.15.

15-year FRMs had a rate decline of 51 basis points to 5.26 percent with points increasing from 1.01 to 1.09.

The one-year ARM was virtually unchanged at 5.83 percent with 0.85 point from 5.84 percent with 0.86 point a week earlier.

Mortgage application volume was up 3.0 percent from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis and 15.3 percent unadjusted because that previous week was shortened by the President's Day holiday. The volume was up 1.1 percent compared with the same week in 2007.

Refinancing as a share of all mortgage application activity increased to 52.4 percent from 52.0 the previous week and the ARM market share continued to move upward from the single digits earlier in the year to 17.3 percent. One week earlier ARM applications represented 15.0 percent of the total.