Rates Ease After Long Climb

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.24% for the week ending Aug. 15 from 6.34% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.66% to 5.58%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages declined from 3.80% to 3.75%. Fees and points averaged 0.7 points for all three mortgage categories. "The bond markets got a little ahead of themselves, causing yields to rise too quickly over the past few weeks," said Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist. "This week saw a bit of a correction, and mortgage rates fell for the first time in eight weeks. Continued volatility in financial markets, however, will keep rates teetering up and down for some time to come." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.22% and 5.63%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.39%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.