30-, 15-Year Mortgage Rates Post Slight Gains

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 7.73% for the week ending Nov. 3, up from 7.68% reached the previous week, Freddie Mac said. A year ago, the rate on 30-year mortgages stood at 7.84%. Last week’s 30-year rate of 7.68% was the lowest since Nov. 12, 1999, and was a far cry from mid-May, when 30-year rates hit a five-year high of 8.64%. Fifteen-year mortgages rose to an average 7.41% this week from 7.36% last week. A year ago, 15-year mortgages averaged 7.45%. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 7.12%, down from 7.22% the week before. For the same period last year, one-year ARMS averaged 6.34%. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points, which averaged 1% of the loan amount for all three types of mortgages.