Adjustable rates rise, fixed ease

Average rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 6.40% this week, down from 6.47% last week and the lowest since the week of July 17, mortgage company Freddie Mac said.

Average rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, fell to 5.93% from 6%. Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 6.03%, up slightly from 5.99%. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages edged up to 5.33% from 5.29%.

These rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The nationwide fee for 30-year mortgages, 15-year mortgages and five-year mortgages averaged 0.6 of a point. One-year mortgages carried an average fee of 0.7 of a point.