Fixed Rates Dip

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.30% for the week ending May 21 from 6.34% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.72% to 5.67%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs climbed from 3.90% to 3.99%. Fees and points averaged 0.7 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.6 of a point for ARMs. "The rise in mortgage rates stalled this week primarily because of rising tensions in other parts of the world, causing foreign investors to flee to the security of U.S. Treasuries," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Consequently, yields remained mainly unchanged from last week, and so did long-term mortgage rates." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.34% and 4.73%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.61%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.