Mortgage Rate Drops for 2nd Straight Week

The average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell for the second week in a row, Freddie Mac said. The decline, to 7.08% from 7.16% last week, lowered the average to between the four-month high of 7.19% at the start of March and the four-year low of 6.89% in mid-January. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, averaged 6.70% this week, down from 6.78% last week. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.67%, down from a nine-month high of 5.70%. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.