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.
& }2 U9 `" C$ d* s* L! q, w& A9 z& {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. 7 L# l/ f' q% n: E9 \
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.
+ C3 o1 {0 k7 {/ \Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.
' A! j- m' I0 l$ `" D# M/ @/ I% ?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.
( v2 h( Z  E4 d8 pHigh 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.
9 @% d+ _) @3 }( xSales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century.
: l6 P# Y: g8 F0 Z1 ?% BBuilders 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.
- }! v/ u3 }% w; p( a. {2 ~2 jTo calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.
! H8 h/ B6 k" b, w* J: NThe 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. 9 y) U0 ~6 O3 }: `# A8 d9 `
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.
" J2 b8 ~$ H7 [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. 5 A: ~# v/ ~1 @# z% o2 z
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.