Mortgage rates jumped this week.

The average 30-year fixed-rate soared 22 basis points, to 5.7 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

This week's average 15-year fixed -- a popular option for refinancing -- leapt 21 basis points, to 5.31 percent.

The average jumbo 30-year fixed rose a more modest 6 basis points, to 7.12 percent.

Adjustable-rate mortgages were split this week. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell 14 basis points, to 5.73 percent. The popular 5/1 ARM increased 9 basis points, to 5.5 percent.

Mortgage loan application activity rose this week after falling significantly the previous two weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. For the week ending Jan. 30, activity was up a seasonally adjusted 8.6 percent from the previous week.

Refinance activity rose 15.8 percent. However, applications for new purchases fell 11.3 percent.

In other mortgage-related news:

• Freddie Mac announced new fees for many of the mortgage loans it buys or guarantees. The move follows a similar announcement late last year by Fannie Mae, the other major government-backed mortgage investor. The new Fannie and Freddie fees are likely to increase mortgage costs for millions of borrowers.
• New home sales in December fell to an annual seasonally adjusted rate of 331,000, the lowest level on record, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales were down 14.7 percent from November and down 44.8 from December 2007.
• The number of home sales contracts signed in December rose 6.3 percent from the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index. Sales activity picked up as a result of "improved affordability conditions," according to an NAR press release.

To find and compare mortgage rates in your area, visit Bankrate's interactive search tool.

-- Chris Kissell

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