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. 4 K- ?6 u: s* }! w, H: WMortgage 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. 4 f) Z$ m' ~' F+ rThe 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. 0 P! L+ h: P2 d# I: s5 E
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week. $ g' N% Q' B$ h) I5 P
Rates 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. * O" m* w% j0 f2 eHigh 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. 3 i* L& z& _ M; H: P/ }' D; a7 MSales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century. 5 }, L& f" B7 Z/ e
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact. + X( w" M: J+ B9 G! [" t/ g Y, c1 M& ~+ U( w
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; x) S% J3 ]' QTo calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. 1 i1 c& z0 |5 H! S' _The 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. : z7 r9 _2 U5 N u4 ^4 QThe 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. 7 }1 d. ^( V7 C
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. & ~& x% ]( s+ BThe 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.
