Wooden Baby

The 30-year mortgage average rate was 6.43%, down from 6.47% the week prior. The 15-year mortgage was also down to 6.11% from 6.16% the week prior. One year ago, the 30-year rate was 5.74%, while the 15-year averaged 5.32%.

"Although 30-year mortgage rates are about three-fourths of a percentage point higher than they were last year, it's good to keep in mind that rates have dropped from the high of 6.80% reached just eight weeks ago," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac.

"And with short-term interest rate increases seemingly on hold, for a while at least, interest rates over all should not experience any big shifts in either direction," he explained.

"The risk to our forecast of relatively stable mortgage rates is that inflation will unexpectedly heat up, causing bond markets to raise their expectations that the Fed will intervene by raising short-term rates. In that case, mortgage rates will again start to rise," he continued.

The one-year adjustable rate mortgage also say a decrease, falling to an average of 5.60%, down from 5.63% one week earlier. One year ago, the ARM was at 4.46%.

The five-year hybrid was also down, averaging 6.10%. One week ago, it was at 6.14%.

The 30-year mortgage came with an average fee of 0.5 point. The 15-year fixed had a fee of 0.4 point, while the one-year had an average fee of 0.7 point.

The Federal Reserve will meet next week to discuss inflation risks and the growth of the economy.

Martin Lukac represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate and mortgage rates. We specialize in daily updates, mortgage news, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!