Mortgage Rates Fall for Second Straight Week

Mortgage rates backed down for the second consecutive week, according to reports from ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com/ and ""Bankrate.com"":http://www.bankrate.com/.

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Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed-rate average at 4.31 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending July 25, down from last week's 4.37 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.49 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.39 percent (0.8 point), down from 3.41 percent last week.

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Adjustable rates also eased, but only slightly. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.16 percent (0.7 point), down from 3.17 percent, while the 1-year ARM averaged 2.65 percent (0.4 point) compared to last week's 2.66 percent.

Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft said this week's decline should ""help to alleviate market concerns of a slowdown in the housing market,"" noting that June data--including existing- and new-home sales and inventory--were promising.

Meanwhile, Bankrate's weekly national survey showed the 30-year fixed falling to 4.54 percent and the 15-year fixed dropping to 3.61 percent. The 5/1 ARM also declined, dipping to 3.54 percent.

The downward trend may not last, however.

""Mortgage rates settled down over the past week, following two months of volatility,"" Bankrate said in a release. ""The tame movement in mortgage rates may prove to be only a brief reprieve however. With next week bringing a Federal Open Market Committee meeting and a new report on the job market, this week may have been the calm before the storm.""