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Mortgage rates fell this week, with adjustable-rate mortgages dropping especially sharply.

The average 30-year fixed-rate fell 6 basis points, to 6.33 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

The average 15-year fixed -- a popular option for refinancing -- fell 7 basis points, to 6.01 percent. The average jumbo 30-year fixed slid 8 basis points, to 7.62 percent.

Adjustable-rate mortgages fell even more substantially. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage dropped 16 basis points, to 5.78 percent. The popular 5/1 ARM sank 24 basis points, to 6.18 percent.

Meanwhile, mortgage loan activity declined by a seasonally adjusted 6.2 percent for the week ending Nov. 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Refinancing activity fell 2.6 percent from the previous week while applications for new purchases slid 12.6 percent.

The drumbeat of bad housing news continued this week. U.S. home median prices declined by a record 9 percent during the third quarter when compared to the same period in 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Housing starts and permits also fell to new record lows in October, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

-- Chris Kissell

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