Rates Fall Again

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.72% to 6.63% over the seven-day period ended Aug. 3, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 6.34% to 6.27%, the average rate for five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages declined from 6.35% to 6.27%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs decreased from 5.78% to 5.69%, Freddie Mac reported. Fees and points averaged 0.3 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages, 0.4 of a point for hybrid ARMs, and 0.7 of a point for one-year ARMs. "Second-quarter gross domestic product came in weaker than the market had expected," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "This means inflation is less of a threat, and that translates into lower mortgage rates. Although lower rates are a welcome sight, we still feel that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate will drift up and down somewhat over the next few months, but will average less than 7% for the year." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.82% and 5.38%, respectively, and the average five-year and one-year ARM rates were 5.30% and 4.47%, respectively, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.