Marking the second consecutive week of declines, Freddie Mac reported Thursday that mortgage rates dipped once again this week.

For the week ending March 11, 2010, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.95 percent with an average 0.7 point. This was only a slight drop from last week when it averaged 4.97 percent but a more notable decrease from the 5.03 percent average during this same week in 2009.

The average rate for 15-year fixed mortgages also nudged down this week, Freddie Mac said. Coming in at 4.32 percent with an average 0.7 point, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 0.01 percent from week-to-week and was down 0.32 percent year-over-year.

The story was the same for adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARM averaged 4.05 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, a dip from last week’s average of 4.11 percent. In addition, the 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.22 percent with an average 0.6 point, a fall from last week when it averaged 4.27 percent.

“During a light week of mixed economic reports, mortgage rates eased somewhat,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac VP and chief economist. “Pending existing home sales fell 7.6 percent in January, well below the market consensus of a 1 percent gain.”

Nothaft continued saying, “Meanwhile, the economy lost only 36,000 jobs in February, fewer than market forecasts, and the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent. In addition, revisions added a net 35,000 workers to January and December combined.”