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. / r. A9 W4 V" M1 l8 |" l% U
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. % k7 v, @4 S0 ~) B. S4 z# r+ E! S) D
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. 6 X7 S- p2 E- h$ w7 J+ \9 M5 X4 }
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.
9 e# x" t* k- a! h: `2 _& h% y! JRates 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.
1 N( N2 H( y0 O# G- ], 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.
9 o' d+ S5 N3 T# @0 \Sales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century. / C9 c) T+ a( c9 u, u
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact. 7 |( {1 }; d+ u" f0 }
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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. - k5 b  R8 {+ q  N( s
To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. 1 `5 s4 M3 v7 ]; m
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. 8 O6 _: ]' ~0 g6 E9 Z
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.
9 Q3 y, }/ ^- IFor 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.
  y- p) H) X% I& GThe 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.