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Mortgage rates decline
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March 25, 1999: 12:51 p.m. ET
30-year fixed mortgage declines to 6.98 %; 15-year rate also lower
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Mortgage rates changed direction this week after climbing steadily in recent weeks, mortgage firm Freddie Mac said Thursday.
For the week ending March 26, interest rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.98 percent, down from last week's 7.01 percent. A year ago, rates averaged 7.08 percent.
Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages also fell, dropping back to an average 6.61 percent from last week's 6.64 percent, Freddie Mac said. The rate for these mortgages averaged 6.69 percent one year ago.
Robert Van Order, chief economist for Freddie Mac, said strength in the Treasury market pulled rates down, along with continued strength in the economy and low inflation.
"We continue to expect mortgage rates to fluctuate within a narrow range this year," Van Order said. 
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