BANKING

Average Mortgage Rates Dip: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.71% this week, down from 7.85% last week, according to a national survey by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. The average was the lowest since March 10, 1994, when it was 7.63%. The average hit a 25-year low of 6.74% in October, 1993. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.95%, down from 6.06% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for people refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.24% this week, down from 7.40% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.