Rates Decline on 30-, 15-Year Mortgages

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 8.16% for the week ended Thursday, down from 8.22% the previous week, Freddie Mac said. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, slipped to 7.88% this week, down from 7.92% the previous week. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 7.27% this week, up from last week’s rate of 7.26%. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points, which averaged 1%--or just a little more--of the loan amount for all three types of mortgages. Separately, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. of America said the delinquency rate for home loans nationwide fell to 3.72% in the first quarter of the year, the lowest level since the second quarter of 1972, when the rate was 3.49%. The association also said mortgage loan applications for the week ended June 30 rose a seasonally adjusted 4.3% from the previous week.