30-Year Mortgages Inch Down to 8.25%

The average interest rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 8.25% this week, down from 8.26% last week, Freddie Mac said. Last week’s rate was the highest since Sept. 13, 1996, when it hit 8.28%. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, also inched down, with an average rate of 7.84% this week, compared with 7.86% last week. But on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6.65% this week, up from 6.56% the previous week. Separately, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. of America said mortgage loan applications for the week ended Jan. 21 fell 5.8% from the previous week and were down 37.9% compared with the same week last year.