Freddie Mac announced Thursday that rates for 30-year home loans have dropped for the third-straight week. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said rate reductions over the past five weeks translate into monthly savings of $56 on a $200,000 mortgage. The average rate for 30-year fixed mortgages was 5.14 percent this week, down from 5.2 percent last week. Last year at this time, the average rate for a 30-year mortgage averaged 6.26 percent. Freddie Mac gathers mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates may fluctuate quite a bit, even within a given day. Last week, the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.63 percent, down from 4.69 percent the prior week, according to Freddie Mac.
