30-year mortgage hits 30-year low
A sale-pending sign is good news for the seller of this Wayland, Mass. home. The 30-year mortgage just hit a 30-year low, but very few are using it to buy. Most of the action is in refinancing existing mortgages. (Aug. 11, 2011) Credit: AP
The last time rates on 30-year mortgage were this low President Dwight D. Eisenhower was in office.
The national average for 30-year, fixed-rate home loans hit a record low this week, the most affordable in more than 50 years, according to the weekly survey by mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
Thirty-year, fixed-rate residential mortgages averaged 4.15 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from 4.32 percent a week ago. The average for 30-year, fixed home loans was 4.42 percent a year ago and shattered the previous record low of 4.17 percent in early November.
Freddie Mac has tracked 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averages since 1971 but before that averages were tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Research, beginning in 1949.
For the third consecutive week, the average for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages set another record low, sliding to 3.36 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from 3.50 percent a week ago. A year ago, 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.90 percent.
Low mortgage rates have spurred refinancing, but have done little to spark home purchasing. High unemployment and worker concerns about job security have made would-be home buyers wary of making such a major purchase. And while rates are low, lenders remain conservative about mortgage underwriting.
