Fixed Rates Dip

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.68% for the week ending Dec. 17 from 5.71% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.14% to 5.11%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs climbed from 4.15% to 4.18%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.7 of a point for ARMs. "The Commerce Department report on housing starts showed a considerable drop in starts in November," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "However, with December's mortgage rates continuing to dip even further, we expect housing starts will bounce back fairly quickly." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.88% and 5.24%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.77%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.