Interest Rate Roundup

Mortgages

Mortgage rates rose for the second straight week.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 2 basis points, to 5.34 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

Meanwhile, this week's average 15-year fixed-rate -- a popular option for refinancing -- also rose 2 basis points, to 4.72 percent.

The average jumbo 30-year fixed remained unchanged, at 6.52 percent.

Adjustable-rate mortgages split this week. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage edged up 1 basis point, to 5.25 percent. Meanwhile, the popular 5/1 ARM slid 7 basis points, to 4.69 percent.

Mortgage applications dropped sharply, falling a seasonally adjusted 13.7 percent when compared to a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

For the week ending Oct. 16, applications for new purchase sank 7.6 percent. Refinancing activity tumbled 16.8 percent.

In other mortgage-related news:

• Foreclosure activity jumped 5 percent during the third quarter when compared to the previous quarter, according to online foreclosure marketer RealtyTrac.
  Foreclosure filings -- including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions -- were reported on 937,840 properties. The total was 23 percent higher than in the third quarter of 2008.
• Housing starts climbed 0.5 percent in September when compared to a month earlier, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Activity remains 28.2 percent below the rate in September 2008.
  The Commerce Department also reported that building permits fell 1.2 percent in September when compared to August.

To find and compare mortgage rates in your area, visit Bankrate's interactive search tool.

-- Chris Kissell