Rates for 30-year and one-year ARMs fall; 15-year mortgage rates hold steady

WASHINGTON - Rates for 30-year mortgages dipped again this week, staying below the 7 percent mark for the fourth week in a row, and one-year adjustable rate mortgages fell to their lowest level since 1994, according to a nationwide survey released Thursday. <br> <br> Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported that the average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages edged down to 6.80 percent, down from 6.81 the previous week. A year ago this time, 30-year mortgages averaged 7.03 percent. <br> <br> Rates on 30-year mortgages hit a low of 6.45 percent in early November, their lowest point since Freddie Mac began conducting its nationwide survey in 1971. <br> <br> While rates have moved higher since that time, analysts believe that rates this year will be fairly stable, remaining close to the record lows set last year and will continue to support the housing market. <br> <br> &#34;Low rates will encourage the housing sector of the economy, helping to keep home-ownership at all-time record high levels for the foreseeable future,&#34; said Robert Van Order, Freddie Mac&#39;s chief international economist. <br> <br> Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, held steady at 6.28 percent, unchanged from the week before. A year ago, 15-year mortgages averaged 6.58 percent. <br> <br> On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 4.94 percent, down from 4.96 percent the previous week, and the lowest level since the week ending April 1, 1994. Last year this time, one-year ARMs averaged 6.39 percent. <br> <br> These rates do not include add-on fees known as points, which averaged about 0.7 percent of the loan amount for all three types of mortgages last week. <br> <br> <br>