Fixed mortgage rates dipped this week, with the rate on the 30-year loan staying under 5 percent and the 15-year loan falling below 4 percent, The Associated Press reports.
Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.78 percent from 4.80 percent the previous week. It hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage slipped to 3.97 percent from 4.02 percent. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell earlier this week on weak business manufacturing activity in Philadelphia, Dallas and Richmond, said Frank Nothaft, Freddie’s chief economist.
