REAL ESTATE

Key Mortgage Rate Drops Again: The 11th District cost of funds--the rate to which many adjustable-rate home mortgages are tied--slipped to 5.033% in January from 5.059% in December, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco reported. It was the second straight monthly decline in the rate, which is now at its lowest level since last March, when it stood at 5.007%. The rate, which tends to lag current market interest rates by several months, measures the average cost of funds to the thrifts and other financial institutions in the bank’s 11th District, which covers California, Arizona and Nevada. Separately, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.41% this week, up from 7.32% last week, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.