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.
5 i5 H! @' o, vMortgage 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.
) x1 Y2 r: a7 f2 A% WThe 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.
. C% M% l* ~% T$ P! U; f  uMortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.
0 g& Y. k. J1 |, \; h" @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 ~7 w4 x7 a% t  \5 e. l
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.
2 l, C1 `- f6 iSales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century. & R- H: t, V) V7 A+ `3 R
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact. : z/ K4 p  }5 w9 U  L
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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.
  [6 d) D7 |  M& hTo calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.
+ ]! C: Z' X2 _8 P* X+ YThe 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. . k+ Z, F& x1 x' _# k* u
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.
8 k  I" U, n; B9 {' MFor 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.
, T) ^- J& v/ R$ k' v+ j7 c* uThe 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.