Here's a look at the state of mortgage rates from Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts conducted April 7, 2010.

Mortgages

Mortgage rates jumped for the second straight week.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 12 basis points, to 5.35 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Rates have risen 24 basis points in two weeks and are now at their highest point since Nov. 4, 2009.

Meanwhile, this week's average 15-year fixed-rate -- a popular option for refinancing -- leapt 16 basis points, to 4.69 percent.

The average jumbo 30-year fixed rose 6 basis points, to 5.98 percent.

Adjustable-rate mortgages split this week. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage remained unchanged, at 4.74 percent. Meanwhile, the popular 5/1 ARM rose 4 basis points, to 4.55 percent.

Mortgage applications dropped a seasonally adjusted 11 percent when compared to a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. For the week ending March 26, applications for new purchase inched up 0.2 percent, while refinancing activity plunged 16.9 percent.

In other mortgage-related news, pending U.S. home sales rose 8.2 percent in February, according to the National Association of Realtors. Pending sales also were up 17.3 percent year over year. For February, contracts were up 21.8 percent in the Midwest, 9.2 percent in the South and 9 percent in the Northeast. Contracts actually fell 4.8 percent in the West.

The NAR also reported that sales of vacation homes improved in 2009, while sales of investment properties fell sharply. Vacation home sales were up 7.9 percent compared to 2008, while investment-home sales sank 15.9 percent.

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-- Chris Kissell