标题: Rate on 30-year mortgage falls to record 3.87 pct. [打印本页] 作者: super 时间: 2012-2-2 12:21 标题: Rate on 30-year mortgage falls to record 3.87 pct.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed. " {0 l5 x, c5 `& n
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.87 percent this week. That below the previous record of 3.88 hit two weeks ago. - [5 h* J4 T+ C8 [( t3 k3 d1 }+ y# ^
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.14 percent, also a record low. Records for mortgage rates date back to the 1950s. 9 A: u+ U7 z9 `6 m0 y a2 u! g5 [Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week. 2 S9 T8 l# ~% vRates have been low for more than a year, and the average rate on the 30-year loan has hovered near 4 percent for more than three months. Yet few people can afford to buy a home or qualify for a loan. Those who can have already done so. ! h9 w( a2 C) J# x+ t9 W* WHigh unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many don't want to sink money into a home that they fear could lose value over the next few years. 5 H5 f( x1 B7 p6 k! q* r
Sales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century. ( Z$ ^& U2 ^0 _Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact. 2 R) Q! \& @9 N; d5 } $ A5 A, e- ] m$ {. u8 ?Mortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels. + y$ o& B1 s2 `% d5 f# B4 MTo calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. % K$ Z, `; N' X4 l% z1 E# s6 vThe average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount. 4 Y) w2 H8 u7 ~8 m4 UThe average fee for the 30-year loan rose to 0.8 from 0.7; the average on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 0.8. - J8 T# u& G7 N% W
For the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate fell to 2.80 percent from 2.85 percent. The average on the one-year adjustable loan rose to 2.76 percent from 2.74 percent. ! ~( {7 j; r" n7 |/ ?+ p# `
The average fee on the five-year adjustable loan rose was unchanged at 0.7; the average on the one-year adjustable-rate loan was unchanged at 0.6.
