Mortgage Rates Decline Slightly

Average interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 7.53% this week, but were still higher than the 17 1/2-month low reached at the end of July. The average fell from 7.58% a week earlier, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Rates have moved up and down this year, depending on the degree of nervousness about inflation in financial markets. The average peak this year was 8.18% during the week ended April 3, after the Federal Reserve Board tightened monetary policy. The low was 7.36% during the week ended July 31. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.08% this week, down from 7.12% a week earlier. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.58% this week, down from 5.62% last week. The rates do not include points.