Mortgage rates skyrocket as ’09 comes to an end, says Zillow

Consumers looking to consolidate debt by attempting to move into a cheaper house or refinance their mortgage at a lower rate may not like the latest statistics regarding mortgage rates, which shot up at their quickest pace inrecent months during the week ending December 27.

According to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages saw the largest increase for the week, skyrocketing 0.16 percentage points to hit 4.93 percent. The rates had undergone an increase, albeit a much smaller one, the week earlier as well as increasing 0.05 percentage points for its first increase since October.

Rates for 15-year FRMs took a noticeable jump as well, rising by 0.13 percentage points to hit 4.37 percent. The week prior, average rates for type of mortgage had undergone a much smaller 0.03 percentage point increase following two weeks of smaller 0.01 percentage point gains.

Shorter term 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgages also underwent a significant jump for the week, bumping up 0.13 percentage points as well. The rate had undergone much smaller increases in recent weeks, including a 0.04 percentage point increase the week prior.

As the national mortgage rates continued to rise during the year’s fourth quarter, the volume of mortgage requests continued to fall as well as the volume of mortgage requests declined 26 from the week prior.