Mortgage interest rates across the board inched up this week, according to a study released Thursday by Freddie Mac. Some experts contend that the housing market is indeed bottoming out, confirmed by recent reports that depict positive trends in sales, property values, and inventory levels. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s VP and chief economist, explained, “Bond yields rose slightly higher this week on market optimism that the economy may be stabilizing somewhat, and mortgage rates followed those yields. For instance, the Federal Reserve reported in its July 29th regional review that residential real estate markets in most of its districts remained weak, but many reported signs of improvement.” According to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey for the week ending July 30, 2009, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.25 percent (0.7 point).

That figure is up from last week’s average of 5.20 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM was 6.52 percent. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.69 percent (0.7 point), based on Freddie Mac’s data. Last week, 15-year mortgages averaged 4.68 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.07 percent. Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 4.75 percent this week (0.6 point), up slightly from last week when they averaged 4.74 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM was 6.07 percent. The average interest rate this week for 1-year ARMs was 4.80 percent (0.5 point). Last week, it was 4.77 percent and last year, 5.27 percent.