Mortgage rates are a half-point lower than one year ago. According to Freddie Mac, the national average 30-year fixed mortgage this week is 6.19%. A year ago, it averaged 6.69% The 15-year fixed rate is 5.44%. At this time last year, it averaged 5.96%. “Mortgage rates decreased for the second straight week as we emerged from the Thanksgiving holiday,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a release. “Compared to this time last year, mortgage rates are half a percent lower, creating a more fav ...