Washington, DC, November 4, 2005--The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average was up in the week ending Thursday, rising to 6.31% from 6.15% a week ago, said Freddie Mac.
The mortgage agency said its weekly survey also showed a rise in the 15-year loan, to 5.85% from 5.69%. The one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable rate also rose to 5.09% from 4.91%, the highest in over three years.
The five-year hybrid ARM also rose, to 5.76% from 5.63%. "Based on preliminary GDP figures for the third quarter, the economy is expanding faster than had been expected," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist, in a statement. "Originally, the markets had lowered economic expectations for the third quarter because of the impact of the hurricanes.
So the news of an economy growing at such a strong pace gave financial markets a jolt and added to the impetus that caused mortgage rates to rise again this week.
