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. $ _$ O2 E. G2 o$ b' @8 H0 gMortgage 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. 0 n$ P% g: a8 PThe 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. + _' B/ Q( o7 y* N) |Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week. 9 e! Q& O1 G# V! ~5 u9 u' sRates 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. / [7 P3 @: R, M, ^% N. LHigh 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. ' c8 p8 o0 j0 C6 {* ]1 X+ pSales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century. 5 i$ C+ O# c. L$ ^" e
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact. * D6 j, \6 Y9 j5 a9 p0 ^/ p 4 U, N+ A/ F" a& [. yMortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels. Q2 ^: m$ ? V" @( c9 x3 ETo calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. 1 Y# s' P2 j9 `6 Q. g, p7 j& L1 G
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. 6 N9 Z& Y: W9 w5 }9 V7 J
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. / N4 k: e) i; |# L6 j A
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. + v/ O, X- c% 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.
