Rates Decline

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.42% to 6.37% for the seven-day period ended Oct. 4, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.09% to 6.03%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages declined from 6.15% to 6.11%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs decreased from 5.60% to 5.58%, Freddie Mac reported. Fees and points averaged 0.5 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages and hybrid ARMs, and 0.6 of a point for one-year ARMs. "Mortgage rates eased slightly this week following three weeks of increases," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "The initial effects of the credit market turmoil that began in August are starting to emerge in housing statistics. New-home sales in August fell to the slowest pace in more than seven years, and the median sales price had the largest 12-month decline since 1970." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.30% and 5.98%, respectively, and the average hybrid and one-year ARM rates were 6.00% and 5.46%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.