The Washington Post
By News Services
Saturday, November 28, 2009

Average rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell this week, matching a record low set last spring. Rates are more than a full percentage point below what they were a year ago, Freddie Mac said Wednesday.

Rates for those 30-year mortgages averaged 4.78 percent this week, down from 4.83 percent last week and equaling the low mark reached the week of April 30. Freddie Mac has been tracking rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages since 1971.

Last year at this time, the mortgages averaged 5.97 percent.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.29 percent from 4.32 percent, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year rate hasn’t been this low since Freddie Mac started tracking it in 1991.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.18 percent, down from last week’s 4.25 percent. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages were 4.35 percent for the second consecutive week.

Interest rates began dropping last November, when the Federal Reserve began spending $1.25 trillion to buy mortgage-backed securities in an effort to lower rates, loosen credit availability and bolster the housing market… Read More