30-Year Mortgage Rates Dip Slightly

The average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages slipped to 8.62% this week, down from 8.64% the previous week, Freddie Mac said. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, were unchanged this week at 8.31%. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 7.25% this week--the highest since April 1991 and up from 7.15% last week. Fixed mortgage rates last week reached their highest levels in nearly five years. Separately, mortgage loan applications for the week ended May 19 were up 8.1% from the previous week but down 9.7% from the same week a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. of America said.