Rate on 30-year mortgage falls to record 3.87 pct.

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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.
7 T, _5 b9 O" h+ [! P7 KMortgage 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.
- a, Q7 k8 _% K% i( DThe 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. 1 Y% M0 i; H8 O% w
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.   x4 i. l0 ^7 h8 K( b; g
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.
9 |  o; _1 D% K- g$ @6 K8 d4 }High 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.
# O; I  E, [2 ]8 [" r2 ^Sales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century. % Q$ @! g, d0 h* L) H1 {2 ~
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact.
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Mortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels. 5 i1 A9 M. _) L$ _1 ~  M8 w5 P
To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.
1 B$ P0 G; Y1 `9 a9 n" u# ?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. 1 J& t4 i/ \3 P& b, K5 T/ l& X. g7 x
The 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. . F- R$ M7 o( r+ r
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.
2 ?0 f+ Q: r4 Z9 F$ V7 S; O" NThe 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.