Mortgage Rates Drop to 5-Month Low

Rates for 30-year fixed mortgages have slipped for the third week in a row. The dip to 6.24% is the lowest level since May. Mortgage rates have been falling across the board over the last week, which analysts attribute to the slackening economy. The drop follows the Fed's cut in interest rates last week—the second one in six weeks.

Fed officials have disappointed investors by signaling that worries about inflation and the weak dollar mean more cuts are unlikely. Mortgage news won't get much better soon. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress yesterday that almost half a million subprime mortgages will reset each quarter until the end of next year. Many homeowners struggle to make payments once their low introductory adjustable-rate mortgages reset to higher rates.