U.S. mortgage rates rose to the highest since September, increasing borrowing costs for homebuyers as prices climbed across the country, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.53 percent this week, up from 4.48 percent, according to a statement today from Freddie Mac. The average 15-year rate climbed to 3.55 percent from 3.52 percent, the McLean, Va.-based mortgage-finance company said. While a jump in mortgage rates since May has slowed demand, buyers drove up prices for a limited supply of properties that included fewer discounted foreclosures. Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 13.6 percent in October from a year earlier, the biggest gain since February 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index.
