Mortgage rates climbed this week, along with the number of refinances.

The average 30-year fixed-rate rose 42 basis points, to 5.84 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

The average 15-year fixed -- a popular option for refinancing -- climbed 16 basis points, to 5.46 percent. The average jumbo 30-year fixed rose 25 basis points, to 7.23 percent.

Adjustable-rate mortgages also climbed this week. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage rose 14 basis points, to 6.05 percent. The popular 5/1 ARM jumped 11 basis points, to 5.95 percent.

Mortgage activity rose a seasonally adjusted 48 percent for the week ending Dec. 19, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Refinancing activity was up 62.6 percent from the previous week, while applications for new purchase rose by 10.6 percent, according to the MBA.

Meanwhile, home sellers hoping for Santa to deliver higher prices instead received the equivalent of a lump of coal.

Existing-home sales fell 8.6 percent in November, dropping to an annualized rate of 4.49 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median sale price of an existing home sank to $181,300, a 13.2 percent decline from November 2007.

The drop was the largest since the current data series began in 1968. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, attributed the sales decline to crumbling consumer confidence, growing unemployment and sinking stock prices.

Housing permits and starts also fell to record lows in November, with the Commerce Department reporting a 15 percent decline in permits and a 19 percent fall in starts.

All of the negative news surrounding U.S. real estate continues to take a toll on home builders' confidence. December's reading of 9 remained unchanged from November's all-time low, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index.

An index reading below 50 indicates the number of builders who view sales conditions as poor exceeds the number of builders who believe sales conditions are positive.

-- Chris Kissell

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