BANKING & FINANCE - Nov. 3, 1995

Mortgage Rate Average Dips: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.44% this week, down from 7.45% last week, according to a national survey by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. It was the lowest since Oct. 19, when rates hit a 20-month low of 7.38%. Rates have fallen since a high of 9.25% the week of Nov. 23, 1994. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.67%, down from 5.73% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 6.97% this week, down from 7.01% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.