Mortgage rates dip for third consecutive week

WASHINGTON — Mortgage rates around the country dipped for a third week in a row, pushing 30-year mortgages to their lowest level since April.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.55 percent this week, down from 6.63 percent last week.

That was the lowest level for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 6.53 percent the week of April 20. Since that time, mortgages have been rising, hitting a more than four-year high of 6.80 percent the week of July 20.

Analysts attributed the latest decline to continued evidence that the economy is slowing, which should ease pressure on interest rates, and the decision by the Federal Reserve this week to call a temporary halt to its two-year campaign to push short-term rates higher.

Home sales, which set record highs for five-years running, have slowed this year as higher mortgage rates and still solid home prices have made it too expensive for some people to buy a home.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, averaged 6.20 percent this week, down from 6.27 percent last week.

For one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, rates held steady at 5.69 percent, the same as last week, after having been at 5.78 percent the week of July 27.