Mortgage Rates Fall Third Consecutive Week

Washington, DC, July 17, 2009--Rates on fixed-rate mortgages dropped for the third week in a row, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of conforming mortgages, released on Thursday.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.14% for the week ending July 16, down from 5.20% last week and 6.26% a year ago.

"Average fixed-rate mortgage rates were lower than last week and were down 0.4% to 0.5% from the levels of early June," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist, in a news release. "For a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the rate reduction over the past five weeks translates into a monthly payment saving of $56 on a $200,000 loan."

Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages also fell, averaging 4.63% this week, down from 4.69% last week and 5.78% a year ago. And 1-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.76%, down from 4.82% last week and 5.10% a year ago.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARMs, however, rose slightly this week, averaging 4.83%, up from 4.82% last week. The ARM averaged 5.80% a year ago.