REAL ESTATE

Key Mortgage Rate Drops Again: The 11th District cost of funds--the rate to which many adjustable-rate mortgages are tied--slipped to 4.975% in February from 5.033% in January, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco reported. It was the third straight monthly decline in the rate, which is at its lowest level since February 1995, when it stood at 4.925%. The rate, which tends to lag current market interest rates by several months, measures the average cost of funds to the thrifts and other financial institutions in the bank’s 11th District, which covers California, Arizona and Nevada. Separately, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.69% this week, down from 7.81% last week, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.