Mortgage Rates Rise For First Time In SixWeeks

McLEAN, Va. - (05/16/05) -- Long-term mortgage rates inched uplast week, after falling the previous five weeks, according toFreddie Mac. Still, the rates continued near record lows,contributing to large volumes of new mortgages. "According to theMortgage Bankers Association, purchase applications hit a recordhigh last week, and this can be directly attributed to continuinglow mortgage rates," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist forFreddie Mac The average for the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loanrose slightly to 5.77%, from 5.75 the week before; while theaverage for the 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage moved to 5.33, from5.31%. ARM rates also moved upwards, with the average for thefive-year ARM climbing to 5.21% this week, from 5.16% last week;and the one-year ARM average inching up to 4.23%, from4.22%.