Following last week’s slight increase, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is back where it landed the final week of September.

To be precise, the 30-year rate averaged 6.3% for the seven-day period ending Thursday, according to the latest edition of Freddie Mac’s weekly rate survey. It averaged 6.34% for the period ending Oct. 2.

The 15-year fixed rate fell to 5.53% this week after gaining six basis points last week to reach an average of 5.55%.

“Over the last few weeks, mortgage rates have settled in at their lowest level in about a year,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, noted in a press release. “There is growing evidence that homebuyers are digesting these lower rates and gradually are willing to move forward with buying a home, which is boosting purchase activity.”

Despite the recent respite from summer’s stubbornly high interest rates, the decline hasn’t been enough for some prospective homebuyers, many of whom have either remained on the sidelines or are seeking alternative mortgage products with lower rates.

In particular, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) have seen an uptick in activity recently, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The ARM share of mortgage activity increased to 9.5% of total applications last week from 8.4% the week prior, according to the MBA. The association’s weekly mortgage survey revealed that the average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs — in which a borrower pays a fixed mortgage rate for the first five years of the loan term, after which it adjusts on an annual basis — fell from 5.74% to 5.49% last week.

“Rates on 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages are averaging almost a percentage point below 30-year fixed rates, which explains why the ARM share of applications increased to nearly 10%, and suggests that some borrowers are exploring lower-rate alternatives,” observed Bob Broeksmit, the MBA’s president and CEO.