Mortgages
- 4.63% (30-year fixed)
- 0.43 (average points)
Here's a look at the state of mortgage rates from Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts conducted Aug. 18, 2010.
Mortgage rates rose after four consecutive weeks of setting record lows.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 6 basis points, to 4.63 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
This week's average 15-year fixed-rate -- a popular option for refinancing -- jumped 5 basis points, to 4.11 percent.
The average jumbo 30-year fixed edged down 1 basis point to a record-low 5.26 percent.
Adjustable-rate mortgages split this week. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage held steady for the fifth straight week at 4.8 percent. Meanwhile, the popular 5/1 ARM rose 3 basis points, to 3.95 percent.
Mortgage applications jumped a seasonally adjusted 13 percent when compared to a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for purchase fell 3.4 percent, but refinance applications surged 17.1 percent.
In other mortgage news, housing starts rose 1.7 percent in July when compared to a month earlier, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. However, the June total was down 7 percent year over year.
Building permits in July fell 3.1 percent when compared to June and were down 3.7 percent year over year.
-- Chris Kissell