NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The 30-year mortgage rate dropped below six percent for the first time in two months as Treasury investors became more confident the Fed would keep interest rates at historic lows following last week's policy meeting.

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The 30-year mortgage rate fell to 5.98 percent in the week ending Sept. 26, with an average of 0.6 point payable up front, from 6.01 percent a week earlier. The 30-year stood at 5.99 percent at this time last year, according to mortgage finance company Freddie Mac.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage held steady at 5.30 percent, down from 5.41 percent a year earlier. The 15-year averaged 0.5 point payable up front.

And the rate on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), loosely indexed to the 10-year Treasury note, fell to 3.77 percent, with 0.6 point, from 3.81 percent last week. That rate is still below the year-ago rate of 4.22 percent.

"Investors in bond markets were calmed by assurances from Fed monetary policy makers that no action would be taken until 2004 to raise the Federal Funds Rates," said Amy Crews-Cutts, Freddie Mac deputy chief economist.

"The housing market is still very hot due to still-low interest rates. Recent home sales and housing starts numbers are off the charts and will set another big record in 2003," Crew-Cutts said.

Freddie Mac's average mortgage rates are based on a survey of 125 lenders nationwide. The rates include those on mortgages accepted by borrowers with good credit ratings who place a 20 percent down payment on their homes, according to Freddie Mac. The total amount of each mortgage considered for the survey doesn't exceed a $322,700 limit.

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Freddie Mac (FRE: down $0.06 to $53.22, Research, Estimates), or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., is a publicly traded company the government established in 1970 to provide a flow of funds to mortgage lenders. It buys mortgages from banks, bundles them and then resells them as mortgage-backed securities.

Its products, and the products of other similar entities, have become increasingly popular as an alternative to government-backed bonds, particularly with international investors.