BANKING & FINANCE - March 3, 1995

Mortgage Rates Decline Again: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.53% this week, down from 8.73% last week, according to a national survey released by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. The average was the lowest since Sept. 8, when it was 8.51%. The average hit a 25-year low of 6.74% in October, 1993. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6.51%, down from 6.60% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for people refinancing mortgages, averaged 8.15% this week, down from 8.34% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.