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. ; l3 ~& W% q- b3 }
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.
( h7 M$ C, ~8 c  w5 U3 p' K3 Z+ tThe 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. ' Y0 w, @# o: V: y# o
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week. $ @7 u; U2 Z7 ], K6 O+ I" y
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. 7 ^: a2 L4 [" l. t0 b
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.
( b% b0 N/ [6 P- D. uSales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century. ; V$ c4 R1 H. A8 o$ v
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact. + W" N; g: |8 O9 \5 E9 O
( x4 u6 n6 g6 ?' }
Mortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels.
/ o) M2 f* i  K: @To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.
9 a4 z/ X; v" d, h& H: oThe 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.
- U) [6 y+ d& `$ C; L( }8 fThe 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. ; T- b9 B5 k9 n7 l
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.
- Q& ^3 V: Y  jThe 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.