The average interest rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose to 8.53 percent this week, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.
It was the first time since June 12, 1992 - when the average was 8.54 percent - that the rate has been above 8.5 percent.This week's average was up from 8.32 percent the previous week. The average hit a 25-year low of 6.74 percent in October and in recent weeks has been between 11/2 and 13/4 percentage points above that low.
On one-year adjustable rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.25 percent, up from 5.15 percent last week.
Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 8.03 percent this week, up from 7.85 percent a week earlier.
The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.