Mortgages Below 7% for 3rd Straight Week

Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.98% this week, up only slightly from 6.96% last week and a five-month low of 6.94% two weeks earlier, Freddie Mac said. Nine weeks ago, the average hit a 5 1/2-month high of 7.22%, up from a four-year low of 6.89% in mid-January. The recent declines reflect renewed jitters over Asia, motivating investors to move money from the troubled region to the United States. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, averaged 6.65%, up from 6.64% the previous week. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.66%, down from 5.68% last week. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.