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. 6 P2 R; O6 S9 a: V2 DMortgage 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. 1 ?1 |7 {4 p0 Q% X+ x$ BThe 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. # q' H+ u2 j; m. k1 F
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week. * b; T+ u1 l# D( N5 ~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. & p) o# f& x2 p8 X& 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. / O4 Y# Z' G' h+ a% _
Sales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century. 5 s7 X+ N) b# R w1 ~- K+ s- M
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact. - x" Q6 ^& m. ]- R2 K6 {; V# V& j5 T: N1 g
Mortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels. 4 _4 b ^: Y q. B; J
To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. / M. U, E6 @* [2 \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. / Q4 S. C" h" ~1 z4 @8 f1 p
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. , D4 {8 p5 j" ^+ T, L! t
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. $ c( \! I: B/ x6 \: k
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.
