Mortgage rates post slight gain

Rates on 30-year mortgages rose from last week as loan applications slowed in the face of turbulence in the banking and finance sectors.

Mortgage finance firm Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.10% this week. That's up from 6.09% last week but still below 6.37% a year ago.

"Average mortgage rates were nearly unchanged during the past week, leaving rates above the levels of two weeks ago," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist in a statement.

"Reflecting the rate uptick from two weeks ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that loan applications were down 23% last week," Nothaft said.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 5.78%, up from 5.77% last week. A year ago, the rate was 6.03%

The five-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 6.00%, down from last week at 6.02%. A year ago, the rate was 6.11%.

The rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 5.12%, compared to 5.16% last week. At this time last year, the rate was 5.58%.

The housing market is troubled by falling home prices and a glut of foreclosures. This week, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index fell a record 16.3%.

In September, the government took control of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac, with a rescue plan that could inject $200 billion into them to keep them afloat.