Mortgage Rates Fall for 2nd Consecutive Week

Rates on 30-year and 15-year mortgages around the country this week edged down for the second week in a row, while rates on one-year adjustable mortgages rose sharply.

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 7.03% for the week ending July 27, down from 7.08% last week, Freddie Mac said. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, fell to 6.58% this week, compared with 6.65% the previous week.

On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.72%, up from 5.62% the week before. Last year, one-year ARMs stood at 7.29%.

These rates do not include the add-on fees known as points, which averaged around 1% of the loan amount for all three types of mortgages.