U.S. mortgage rates rise to 5.29%

Mortgage rates in the U.S. rose this week, increasing consumer borrowing costs and potentially threatening gains in home sales. The average 30-year rate climbed to 5.29 percent from 5.22 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac of McLean, Virginia, said today in a statement. The 15-year rate was 4.68 percent. Falling home prices, a government tax credit for first-time buyers and a Federal Reserve effort to lower interest rates helped lure people to the housing market in June. Sales of new homes gained 11 percent, the biggest jump in eight years, and sales of existing homes increased 3.6 percent.

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