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.
$ }6 {  [$ R$ H4 A- F7 uMortgage 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.
9 B5 u" y/ o6 v) x* mThe 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.
* Q( N# L) U  l9 t2 ]6 i- UMortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.
# y. ?* ?8 f0 q- fRates 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.
. @4 _. }& E" }0 [# u5 F4 B  p( |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. ! v/ \% }+ x( D0 T# C
Sales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century.
% d; D1 T6 Q5 S  `4 t1 m7 IBuilders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact.
6 D/ N; S- }6 O& z8 B" l4 t9 |% p3 b6 T1 s
Mortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels.
  ^3 o) u; n( f* VTo calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. & @" n3 Z# }$ D8 U  j+ W) E
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. $ W3 v; R0 v; M* o& j+ l5 n. D
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. + X: j( ~9 x  g9 U  W
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.
* C3 P% a! i- [/ x7 MThe 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.