30-Year Mortgage Rate Falls to 6.71%

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to an eight-week low of 6.71% this week, Freddie Mac said. The decline, from 6.78% a week earlier, is the third in a row and brings the average to its lowest since early October, when it reached a 31-year low of 6.49%. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 6.37% this week, down from 6.44% and the lowest in six weeks. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.52%, down from 5.54%. The rates do not include the fees known as points.