WASHINGTON, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Mortgage rates dropped in the United States last week, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac, said on Thursday.

For the week ending June 27, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) in the United States dropped from 3.84 percent to 3.73 percent from previous week.

The 30-year FRM, the benchmark mortgage rate, was significantly lower than the previous year. For the same period one year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.55 percent.

Besides, Freddie Mac noted that 15-year FRM this week dropped to 3.16 percent, which was lower than previous week's reading of 3.25 percent. The rate of 15-year FRM was also lower over the year and the figure was 4.04 percent for the same period a year ago.

"While the industrial and trade related economic data continues to dominate the news, the drop in mortgage rates over the last two months is already being felt in the housing market," said Sam Khater, chief economist of Freddie Mac.

"Through late June, home purchase applications improved by five percentage points compared to the previous month. In the near-term, we expect the housing market to continue to improve from both a sales and price perspective," Khater added.

Freddie Mac is a corporation founded by U.S. Congress, aimed at promoting the stability and affordability in the U.S. housing market by purchasing mortgages from banks and other loan makers. The corporation has been conducting weekly surveys on U.S. mortgage rate since April 1971.