Rates Decline

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.74% for the week ending Oct. 15 from 5.82% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.24% to 5.14%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs declined from 4.08% to 4.01%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 of a point for all three mortgage categories. "The decline in mortgage rates was primarily due to a weak employment report for September, which suggested economic growth is still a bit subdued," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. ".... Of late, there has been no compelling economic reason to believe mortgage rates would climb out of their recent range." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.95% and 5.26%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.69%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.