30-, 15-Year Fixed-Mortgage Rates Fall

The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages settled back to 7.14% the first week in May from a 5 1/2-month high the week before, Freddie Mac said. The decrease, from 7.22% last week, brought the rate back in line with its average for all of April. It had hit a four-year low of 6.89% in mid-January as investors transferred money from Asia to the U.S. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, also fell back, to an average 6.78% this week, after hitting a six-month high of 6.85% the previous week. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.65%, down from 5.69%--the highest in five weeks. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.