Mortgage rates settling back down

The latest weekly mortgage survey published by Freddie Mac shows that mortgage rates settled down again, more than reversing a big rise the previous week. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.03 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending March 6, 2008, down from last week when it averaged 6.24 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.14 percent. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 5.47 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 5.72 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.86 percent.

-- Jack Krupansky