Mortgage Rates Rise to 7-Month High

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 8.18% this week, the highest in nearly seven months, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said. The increase, from 7.97% the week before, put the rate more than half a percentage point higher than the 7.56% average just six weeks earlier. It was the highest since the 8.28% average during the week ended Sept. 12. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.80% this week, the highest since the week ended Sept. 26 and up from 5.71% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 7.70%, up from 7.48% a week earlier. It was also the highest since the week ended Sept. 12. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.