MORTGAGE RATES FOLLOW BONDS HIGHER

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Mortgage Rates Follow Bonds Higher

December 17, 2010

Average interest rates for long-term mortgages rose for the fifth consecutive week, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.

The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 4.61 percent to 4.83 percent with 0.7 points. Average interest rates for 15-year contracts rose from 3.96 percent to 4.17 percent with 0.7 points, Freddie Mac said.

Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages a year ago stood at 4.38 percent. Rates for 30-year mortgages a year ago averaged 4.94 percent.



Mortgage rates followed bond yields higher in the week, as they have for two weeks.

“Market concerns over stronger economic growth that, in the near term, could lead to an increase in inflation have sparked a rise in bond yields and mortgage rates have followed,” Freddie Mac Vice President