MCLEAN, Va. -- Mortgage rates have fallen for the ninth week out of 10.

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The mortgage company Freddie Mac said its weekly survey found that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.62 percent, down from last week's average of 5.65 percent.

A competing survey from Bankrate.com found that the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage tumbled from 5.72 percent to 5.65 percent.

Last year at this time, 30-year mortgage rates were at 6.28 percent.

Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft said improvements in the job market and rising wages will likely put upward pressure on mortgage rates in the coming months.

But Nothaft said growth in income will partially offset any rise in rates, enabling housing to continue to be a healthy industry.

Mortgage rates have dropped considerably in less than three months, and so have the monthly payments.

According to Bankrate.com, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.15 percent on March 23.

At the time, the monthly payment on a $165,000 loan was $1,005.23.

With the average rate now 5.65 percent, the monthly payment on the same $165,000 loan is $952.44, bankrate.com reported.