BANKING & FINANCE - Aug. 5, 1994

Mortgage Rates Lowest Since Mid-June: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.38% this week, down from 8.57% last week, according to a national survey released by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. The average was the lowest since June 16, when it was 8.33%. The average hit a 25-year low of 6.74% in October. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.50%, down from 5.54% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.90% this week, down from 8.09% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.