Mortgage rates rising!

Mortgage rates at some lenders spiked by as much as 1 percent last Wednesday and saw little relief on Thursday, according to mortgage brokers.

“The 4.75 percent my broker quoted two weeks ago? There’s no way I’m going to get that now.”

The fear dogging homeowners and investors alike is that April’s record lows in mortgage rates may have come and gone.

The stock market has rallied since early March on the assumption the economy will rebound later this year. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been calling early signs of economic stabilization “green shoots” – and one of those shoots was a pickup in refinancing activity caused by tumbling mortgage rates.

But mortgage rates have rebounded sharply over the past few days as the nation’s growing debt raises concerns that government-backed assets could lose some of their value. It’s a trend that could slow both refinancing and home buying if it continues. Higher mortgage rates won’t necessarily derail the economy’s recovery, analysts say, but it certainly won’t help.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is back at 4.91 percent this week, up from 4.82 percent last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday.