REAL ESTATE

30-Year Mortgage Rates Down: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.81% this week, down from 7.83% last week, according to a national survey by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. It was the lowest since March 7, when rates averaged 7.38%. Rates had fallen to 6.94% during the week ended Feb. 15, a two-year low, before they started to rise. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.60%, up from 5.55% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.32% this week, unchanged from a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.