Fixed Rates Tumble 20bps

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.77% for the week ending Oct. 3 from 5.98% the previous week, nearly 70 basis points below its recent high of 6.44% for the week ended Sept. 5, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.30% to 5.10%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages declined from 3.77% to 3.72%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 points for all three mortgage categories. "Plummeting consumer confidence in September led markets to believe that the lack of job growth is wearing on the economy," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "That brings about the fear that the lack of growth could trigger another lull in the economy, causing interest rates to tumble this week." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.01% and 5.40%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.29%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.