Rates on 30-year mortgages plunged this week to the lowest level since January, and may fall further after the Federal Reserve launched a new effort to prop up the flailing housing market.
Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said today that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 4.98 percent this week, down from 5.03 percent last week.
It was the lowest since the week of Jan. 15, when it was at 4.96 percent, the lowest point in the history of Freddie Mac’s survey, which goes back to 1971.
The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.61 percent, down from 4.64 percent last week, Freddie Mac said.
Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.98 percent, compared with 4.99 percent last week. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 4.91 percent, from 4.8 percent last week.
The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The nationwide fee for fixed and adjustable rate mortgages averaged 0.7 point last week. (AP)
