Mortgage interest rates followed bond yields on a slight uptick for the week ending July 30, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac (FRE). The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.25% with a 0.7 point, up from 5.2% from last week and down from 6.52% this week last year. The 15-year FRM averaged 4.69% with a 0.7 point, slightly rising from 4.68% last week and dropping from 6.07% from a year ago this time. The average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) also bumped to 4.75% with 0.6 point from 4.74% last week. It decreased from 6.07% a year ago. One-year ARMs averaged 4.8% with an average 0.5 point also up from last week when it averaged 4.77%. A year ago, the one-year ARM averaged 5.27%. “Bond yields rose slightly higher this week on a market optimism that the economy may be stabilizing somewhat, and mortgage rates followed those yields,” said frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s vice president, in a corporate release. “For instance, the Federal Reserve reported in its July 29th regional review that residential real estate markets in most of its districts remained weak, but many reported signs of improvement.” A separate survey by Bankrate.com, which tracks large banks and thrifts, reported that mortgage rates jumped “ever-so-slightly.” The 30-year FRMs climbed one basis point to 5.56%, dropping from 5.7% four weeks ago and 6.7% last year. The 15-year FRMs averaged a rate of 4.88%, according to Bankrate.com. Write to Jon Prior.

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