30-year Mortgage Rates Drop

Pioneer Press
07/03/2008

WASHINGTON — Rates on 30-year mortgages, which had been rising for five straight weeks, posted a decline as signals from the Federal Reserve eased worries about imminent rate increases.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.35 percent this week. That was down from 6.45 percent last week, which had been the highest level since last September. The decline pushed the rate to its lowest level in three weeks but it remained above 6 percent, where it has been since the week of May 29.

Other types of mortgages showed decreases this week as well, according to the Freddie Mac survey.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 5.92 percent, down from 6.04 percent last week.

The five-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 5.78 percent, down from 5.99 percent last week. The rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage declined to 5.17 percent, compared with 5.27 percent last week.

The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The nationwide fee for 30-year, 15-year and one-year mortgages all averaged 0.6 point this week. The fee on five-year mortgages averaged 0.7 point.