Rates on 30-year mortgages edge down slightly

WASHINGTON - Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down slightly this week, but remained above 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 to 6.06 percent last week. It marked the third week that 30-year rates have been above 6 percent.

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 housing market is still struggling amid falling house prices and stricter lending standards," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac. "Coupled with higher delinquency and foreclosure rates, a smaller share of families own their homes this year."

Nothaft said the national homeownership rate stood at 67.8 percent in the first three months of this year, according to figures from the Census Bureau, compared to its most recent peak of 69 percent in the third quarter of 2006.

While the Federal Reserve last week cut a key lending rate for the seventh time since September, it signaled that it was likely to pause, in part out of concerns that inflation pressures could begin to intensify.

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.

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