Mortgage Rates Fall to Five-Month Low

WASHINGTON – Mortgage rates fell this week, with rates on 30-year mortgages dropping to their lowest level in five months, good news for potential home buyers.

Freddie Mac, in its weekly nationwide survey released Thursday, said rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.77 percent for the week ending Sept. 2. That was down from 5.82 percent last week and was the lowest since rates averaged 5.52 percent for the week ending April 1.

Rates on 30-year mortgages hit a high this year of 6.34 percent the week of May 13. Since then, rates, while bouncing around, have slowly drifted downward as economic activity cooled in the late spring and early summer.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said a drop in consumer confidence reported earlier this week has raised concerns among some Wall Street investors about consumers’ willingness to spend in the coming months.

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