MSNBC.com, reports that rates on 30 year mortgages dipped slightly this week, the second decline after five weeks of increases. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.67 percent this week, compared with 6.69 percent last week. A year ago, rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages stood at 6.78 percent. Analysts attributed the decline to developments in the bond markets and to the worsening state of the housing market. "This week we saw further effects of the current housing recession," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac. He noted that existing home sales dipped to the slowest pace in four years while the number of unsold homes on the market climbed to the highest level in 15 years.