Home mortgage interest rates edged down slightly...

Home mortgage interest rates edged down slightly last month, the first decline since March, while the percentage of Americans turning to adjustable-rate mortgages has more than doubled. The Federal Home Loan Bank Board said fixed-rate mortgages averaged 10.72% in July, down from a high this year of 10.86% in June. The 0.14 percentage point decline was the first since March, when rates hit a nine-year low of 9.47%. The most popular type of adjustable-rate mortgage, one with a cap on how high rates can go, dropped to 8.70% in July from 8.75% in June. The percentage of loans being closed with adjustable rates climbed to 50% in July, up from 37% in June and 22% in April, when rates began rising.