Interest Rates Fall Sharply This Week

Average interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell sharply this week to the lowest level in seven weeks, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp said. The decline to 7.38% from 7.53% brought the average to the lowest level since the week ended July 31. Then, it was 7.36% and the lowest in 17 months. This week marked the largest one-week decrease in 10 weeks. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 6.94% this week, down from 7.07% a week earlier. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.53% this week, down from 5.59%.