U.S. mortgage rates fall in week

Washington -- Interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate U.S. mortgages dropped significantly from the previous week, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.93 percent with an average 0.7 points for the week ending Sept. 11, Freddie Mac said.

A year ago, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages were higher at 6.31 percent. A week ago, the average rate was 6.35 percent.

At 5.54 percent with an average 0.7 points, the 15-year, fixed-rate average also declined, dropping from the previous week's average of 5.9 percent. A year ago, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.97 percent, the report
said.

"Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are down almost 0.6 percentage points over the past 4 weeks, which will help to spur home purchases and loan refinancing in coming weeks," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

"This means that the monthly principal and interest payment on a new $200,000 loan is over $76 lower than a month ago," Nothaft said in a statement.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.