Rate on 30-year mortgage falls to record 3.87 pct.

super

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. ! O  g; U: x; J, n+ L
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.
- H/ T$ U9 g! S8 |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. 2 U5 K3 p/ i2 K, B* ?
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.
& C* P' s* m$ Q) G* ]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.
1 @5 F/ i/ `* y; e: a& f# 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.
1 M$ k3 {6 n$ F& {  R7 [Sales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century.
) B& J, e9 ^$ R+ A; gBuilders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact.
( |) C, p( ^: `) E% J4 j& J, q8 y% O. ]
Mortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels.
7 o+ `% \4 I% C& l/ ^; @8 n, ?" ~To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. 2 R7 u4 N! ]  N- O/ n/ \
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.
* e: M% u. l* K, ^. A0 jThe 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. 4 a! w6 t  X- e' I. H/ P1 [& U
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.
' }! G0 q! E+ E. ^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.