Rates Decline

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.04% for the week ending Dec. 13 from 6.19% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.60% to 5.46%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages decreased from 4.21% to 4.18%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 points for ARMs and 0.5 points for fixed-rate mortgages. "November's employment report was a letdown, and it brought mild disappointment to the financial markets, causing mortgage rates to recede," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "The lack of any job growth stalls the economic recovery and, in the long run, dampens the potential growth of the housing industry." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 7.09% and 6.57%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 5.19%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found on the Web at http://www.freddiemac.com.