Dive summary:

• If there is one lesson from the economic recovery of the past few years, it's that nothing is certain, but the fears that rising mortgages rates will choke off, or at least slow down, the rebuilding of the housing market seems well-founded this week.
• At the close of the week ending Thursday, Freddie Mac's nationwide average rate for a 30-year, fix mortgage was 4.46% after being at 3.93% seven days earlier, which is a stunning 13.5% increase and the biggest one-week rise since the week that ended April 17, 1987.
• But proving that nothing is for sure, a survey done by HSH.com showed that the rate had hit 4.63% on Monday and has been sliding back since.

From the article:

Mortgage rates started rising last week, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke of the Fed’s intention later this year to scale back the stimulus program that kept rates low. ...