Mortgage rates rose slightly during the week ending May 7, Freddie Mac announced today.

30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 4.84 percent with 0.7 points down. The previous week, the average rate for this loan was 4.78 percent.

Here are some other common loans:

  • 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.51 percent with 0.7 points down. Up from 4.48 percent a week earlier.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.90 percent with 0.6 points. Up from 4.80 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARMs averaged 4.78 percent with 0.6 points down. Up from 4.77 percent.

“Mortgage rates rose slightly this week amid positive economic news that the economy may be approaching the bottom of the recession,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “In terms of the household sector, the final April estimate of consumer sentiment, as measured by the University of Michigan, was revised above the market consensus. On the business side, the ISM Manufacturing Index for April also exceeded market expectations.

“In addition, the positive news was corroborated by Fed Chairman Bernanke when he stated that he expects economic activity to bottom out, then to turn up later this year. He also noted that the housing market is beginning to stabilize. For instance, pending existing home sales rose for the second consecutive time in March and represented the first back-to-back monthly increase since March 2008. Furthermore, in its April 2009 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, the Federal Reserve found the demand for prime mortgages rose for the first time since April 2007 when it first began collecting such detailed mortgage data.”

May 7, 2009