Mortgage rates rise, still lower than last year

Fixed mortgage rates rose 0.6 percent this week after three weeks of declines. The average 30-year mortgage rate was 5.2 percent in the week ending July 23, still far below the 6.63 percent rate of a year ago, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate for a 15-year mortgage was 4.68 percent, down from 6.18 percent a year ago. The fact that rates are still so much lower than a year ago means the market is on its way to stabilizing, said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. [Reuters via USA Today] and [National Mortgage News]