Mortgage rates decline slightly

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Key mortgage rates declined slightly, but other products showed slight gains, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

The government-sponsored loan buyer said the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan fell to 6.45 percent for the week ending August 30, 2007 - from 6.52 percent last week.

Last year at this time, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.44 percent.

Freddie Mac said the results were mixed because of moves in Treasury bonds.

"Interest rates on conforming long-term fixed-rate mortgages declined slightly, while rates on one-year adjustable rate mortgages increased by about a quarter of a percent," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's (Charts, Fortune 500) chief economist, in a statement.

"The increase in ARM rates is consistent with movement of the yields on short-term Treasury securities, which have exhibited higher volatility recently due to market uncertainties," he said.

In its latest report, Freddie Mac said that rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans averaged 6.12 percent in the latest week, down from 6.18 percent last week. A year ago, the 15-year rate averaged 6.14 percent.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.35 percent this week, up from 6.34 percent last week.

A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.11 percent.

One-year ARMs averaged 5.84 percent this week, up from 5.60 percent last week. They were at 5.59 percent this time last year.