Below is a recent article from Inman News in regards to recent increases in mortgage rates.

Mortgage rates gained this week on the Federal Reserve's belief that inflation could still pose a problem, Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com reported today.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed to an average 6.21 percent from last week's 6.15 percent, while the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 5.87 percent to 5.92 percent. Points, which are fees lenders charge for loan processing expressed as a percent of the loan, averaged 0.4 on the 30- and 15-year loans.

Borrowing costs on adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) were mixed, as the five-year Treasury-indexed ARM grew from 5.89 percent to 5.92 percent while the one-year ARM held at 5.48 percent. Points on these loans averaged 0.6 and 0.7, respectively.

"Mortgage rates inched up this week following the Federal Open Market Committee statement reiterating that the predominant concern remains the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected," Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement. "However, as long as core inflation continues to trend downward and economic growth remains subpar it is unlikely that we will see any big movement in mortgage rates."

"Recent indicators point to continued weakness in the housing market, with the bottom of the cycle still months away. There are signs that house sales are stabilizing and excess inventories beginning to come under control, but building permits continue to be weak and condo sales are soft in a number of markets."

Nothaft said the only good news from the housing market came from the National Association of Realtors, which reported first-quarter existing-home sales were up 2.4 percent from the final quarter of 2006, and the Mortgage Bankers Association, which reported the "average pace of mortgage applications for home purchase over the first two weeks in May was the strongest since January 2006."

Brought to you by Randy Charlton of Century 21 Home Realtors.