HispanicBusiness

U.S. fixed mortgage rates this week rose slightly, ending their six-week streak of record-setting lows, as upbeat economic data improved market sentiment.

The Primary Mortgage Market Survey released Thursday by Freddie Mac showed that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) increased to 3.71 percent in the week ending June 14 from last week's 3.67 percent.

The 15-year FRM rose to 2.98 percent from 2.94 percent a week earlier. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.67 percent.

By contrast, the five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable- rate mortgage (ARM) declined slightly to 2.80 percent, while the one- year Treasury-indexed ARM dipped to 2.78 percent.

The U.S. Federal Reserve reported that household net worth rose by 2 trillion U.S. dollars to 62.9 trillion dollars over the first three months of 2012 thanks to increases in stock markets, pushing market sentiment to be more optimistic.

However, mortgage rates still remain near record lows, serving as an incentive for home refinancing and purchasing.

With constant modest improvement recently, the U.S. housing crash is said to be near the bottom. However, many economists hold that the market still needs years to recover entirely as the bottom will be prolonged.