Mortgage Interest Rates Edge Lower

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages slipped to 7.12%, down from 7.14% last week, Freddie Mac said. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, ticked down to 6.63% from 6.66% the previous week. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.97%, compared with 6.08% the week before. This week’s one-year rate was the lowest since they averaged 5.96% for the week ending July 9, 1999. Last year, one-year ARMs averaged 6.77%. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.