30-year mortgage rates dip

WASHINGTON – Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down this week but remained above than 6 percent for the third straight week.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.05 percent this week, compared with 6.06 percent last week.

Analysts said rates for all mortgages didn’t change much this week as the housing industry continues to confront the worst downturn in more than 20 years.

The Freddie Mac survey found that rates on other types of mortgages were mixed this week.

The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, edged up to 5.60 percent, up from 5.59 percent last week.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages dropped to 5.67 percent, down from 5.73 percent last week. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages were unchanged for a third straight week, remaining at 5.29 percent.

The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. For 30-year and 15-year mortgages, the nationwide average fee was 0.3 point. The average fee for five-year adjustable-rate mortgages was 0.5 point while the average fee for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages was 0.6 point.

A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages stood at 6.21 percent, 15-year mortgage rates averaged 5.92 percent, five-year adjustable-rate mortgages were also at 5.92 percent and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages were at 5.48 percent.