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.
7 L/ B) k# d0 U9 I$ j  xMortgage 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. 8 t# n* B0 R' m+ f6 H
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.
" ]- r4 {/ @. G( u9 J/ n$ [Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.
  p& g8 `$ c. H6 x3 sRates 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.
  l! w1 \% F8 [+ IHigh 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.
+ L: X" z$ ~6 _/ L3 ]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 h+ g6 i- h0 d4 s0 g3 g
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact. . {3 B& v* a$ d, W. Y7 h; I* i

. n! C1 G3 J3 w3 qMortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels.
* `+ u0 Y1 V0 h  Y* ~To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. 0 R. a1 f1 [( }8 H' a" I
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.
; S8 h( s" m- ]: ^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. ' N# v/ e4 F0 c3 j: F) A
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.
- }4 N" h0 v! y) y. U: vThe 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.