REAL ESTATE
Times Staff and Wire Reports
Fixed-Rate Mortgage Drops: Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.01% this week, down from 8.08% last week, according to a national survey by the Federal Home Mortgage Corp. The average is the lowest since May 2, when it was 7.99%. Rates had risen to 8.24% on May 9. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.75%, down from 5.78% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.51% this week, down from 7.59% a week earlier. The rates do not include points.
