30-Year Mortgage Rate Dips Below 8%

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages slipped below 8% this week for the first time since late March, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said. The rate averaged 7.94%, down almost a quarter of a percentage point from a seven-month high of 8.18% the week ended April 3. That was a week after the Federal Reserve Board tightened monetary policy for the first time in two years. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 7.47% this week, down from 7.53% a week earlier. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders asked an average initial rate of 5.82% this week, down from 5.84%. The rates do not include points.