Mortgage Rates Drop to 3-Year Low

Mortgage rates around the country this week dropped to their lowest levels in nearly three years.

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.72%, down from 6.80% last week, according to the nationwide survey released by Freddie Mac, the mortgage company.

It marked the seventh week in a row that 30-year mortgages have been less than 7%. This week’s rate marked the lowest level for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 6.69% the week of Dec. 18, 1998.

Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, dipped to 6.23% this week, compared with 6.30% the previous week, and is the lowest level since Oct. 9, 1998.

A year ago, rates for 30-year mortgages averaged 7.88% and rates for 15-year mortgages averaged 7.53%.

On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.45%, down from 5.58% the previous week. This week’s rate was the lowest since Oct. 30, 1998, when the rates on one-year ARMs averaged 5.42%. Last year at this time, ARMs stood at 7.21%.