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.
* N( [, P; V' iMortgage 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. # F1 S% o- [9 Y6 d7 O
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. & X+ S2 d1 v9 ^$ M
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.
" }. {8 s/ V. K; E: B3 ERates 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 ?! Q/ U* A8 u0 ~6 MHigh 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.
# ?. `) K! o8 s) B1 b. o9 CSales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century. " q% O" {' c0 n, m
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact.
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: |; Q% S) k: w" L9 W$ @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 ~1 l# h, Q" o% n& j1 FTo calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. 8 J' g- _6 N. f$ M& n/ s
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. - c9 m4 m8 o, n+ X
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.
+ K% V0 H8 _# A" M* o0 cFor 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. 6 O9 h5 N/ R3 w$ ~' A( D. j
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.