Mortgage Rates Fall After Three-Week Climb: Freddie

Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages lowered for the first time in four weeks, Freddie Mac reported.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.71% for the week ending March 24, according to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That's two basis points lower than last week's figure and two basis points above the figure from a year ago.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.96%, down three basis points from a week ago. Last year it was 2.97%.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.89%, down four basis points from last week and down three basis points from a year ago.

Despite the drop, "comments this week by several members of the Fed, including the presidents of the Richmond, San Francisco and Atlanta banks, indicated that a June rate hike is still on the table," Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said in a March 24 news release.