Mortgage rate

With mortgage rates steadily heading north during the summer, funding delays and busted rate locks caused much consumer consternation.

30 yr fixed mortgage - 5.86%

15 yr fixed mortgage - 5.48%

5/1 ARM -5.50%

30 yr fixed jumbo mortgage - 6.12%

5/1 jumbo ARM - 5.63%

Countrywide Financial Corp., anticipating higher mortgage rates, intends to make a bigger splash in adjustable-rate lending through brokers.

Countrywide and others are pushing adjustable-rate loans because they tend to become more popular with consumers as mortgage rates rise, as is expected to happen this year. One reason for this is that they often feature "teaser" rates as much as 2 percentage points lower than fixed-rate loans, which make payments on the loans cheaper, at least initially.

After several years of false alarms, the mortgage boom that would not quit appears finally ready to throw in the towel.

With mortgage rates rising and Federal Reserve rate hikes on the horizon, several lenders have signaled that a chill is in the air.