Daily Real Estate News  |  October 17, 2008

30-Year Rates Rise to 8-Week High

Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose this week to an 8-week high, according to Freddie Mac, while ARM rates showed smaller gains.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.46 percent during the week ended Oct. 16, up from 5.94 percent the prior week. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.40 percent.

The 15-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 6.14 percent from 5.63 percent over the same period.

"Recent economic reports suggest the economy is still slowing. For instance, retail sales fell for the third consecutive month by 1.2 percent in September," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

"In addition, in its latest Beige Book, released October 15th, the Federal Reserve indicated that economic activity weakened in September across all 12 Federal Reserve Districts and that several Districts also noted that their contacts had become more pessimistic about the economic outlook."

Source: Freddie Mac