30-year mortgage at lowest rate since 1971

By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporterAugust 12, 2010: 2:18 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mortgage rates continued to decline this week, plunging to the lowest level in decades, according to surveys from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.

Freddie Mac's weekly report said the 30-year fixed rate slipped to 4.44% for the week ended Thursday, the lowest since the government-backed lender began tracking the rate in 1971. Last week's rates stood at 4.49%, and a year ago it was at 5.29%.

The 15-year fixed rate fell to 3.92% this week, the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking it 1991, down from 3.95% last week and from 4.68% a year ago.

Adjustable-rate mortgages also declined, with the 5-year rate falling to 3.56% this week, the lowest since 2005 when the lender began tracking it.

Mortgage tracker Bankrate.com, which surveys large lenders across the country, said the average 30-year fixed loan sank to a record low for the fourth consecutive week, falling to 4.57% from 4.66% the previous week.

The 15-year fixed rate, which is a popular option for refinancing, also fell to the lowest level in the history of Bankrate's 25-year old survey, dipping to 4.06%, from 4.11% the week before.

While the 1-year adjustable-rate mortgage held steady at 4.8% for a fourth week, the 5-year adjustable rate mortgage dropped to a record low of 3.92% from 3.95% the previous week.

"Low rates are helping to heal many battered local housing markets by increasing home-purchase activity, said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac.

Mortgage rate applications inched up a modest 0.6% during the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for purchase rose 0.3% while refinance applications increased 0.6%.  

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Overnight avgs

30 yr fixed mtg	4.52%
15 yr fixed mtg	3.95%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg	5.37%
5/1 ARM	3.49%
5/1 jumbo ARM	4.09%

Find personalized rates:
 

Rates provided by
Bankrate.com.
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Markets	Last	Change	% Change
	10,303.15	-16.80	-0.16%
	2,173.48	-16.79	-0.77%
	1,079.25	-4.36	-0.40%
	2.69	-0.05	-1.72%
	1.28	-0.01	-0.55%

Data as of 3:59pm ET

Company	Price	Change	% Change
	3.88	0.01	0.26%
	13.23	0.17	1.28%
	21.36	0.00	0.00%
	19.15	-0.30	-1.54%
	9.39	0.43	4.79%

Data as of Aug 13Sponsored by var randomnumberA=Math.floor(Math.random()*2); // fortune content if (location.pathname.match('fortune')) document.write(''); else // moneymag homepage if (location.pathname.match('moneymag')) document.write(''); else // cnnmoney content if (randomnumberA==0) document.write(''); else if (randomnumberA==1) document.write('');
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