Time to get off the fence, mortgage rates going up

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Freddie Mac /quotes/comstock/11k!fmcc (FMCC 0.61, -0.13, -18.01%) said Thursday the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average surged to 5.05% for the week ending Feb. 10, its highest since April. In the previous period, the average was 4.81%, and the year-ago average was 4.97%. "Long-term bond yields jumped on positive economic data reports, which placed upward pressure on mortgage rates this week. For all of 2010, nonfarm productivity rose 3.6%, the most since 2002, while January's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell from 9.4% to 9%. Moreover, the service industry expanded in January at the fastest pace since August 2005. As a result, interest rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to the highest level since the last week in April 2010," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist, in a statement.