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Rates Hit 37-Year Low For Fixed Mortgages

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The Associated Press

Published: December 19, 2008

WASHINGTON - Rates on 30-year-fixed mortgages dropped this week to their lowest levels in at least 37 years, as the Federal Reserve pledged to pour money into the mortgage market in an effort to spur the moribund U.S. housing market.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 5.19 percent, down from the year's previous low of 5.47 percent, set last week.

The rate is the lowest since Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate survey began in April 1971.

Mortgage rates started falling after the Federal Reserve launched a sweeping new effort in late November to aid the U.S. housing market by purchasing up to $600 billion of mortgage-related securities and other debt issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

A daily survey found that the national average rate fell even lower Wednesday. The rate on 30-year, fixed mortgages was 5.06 percent, according to financial publisher HSH Associates, the lowest since the 1960s and down from 5.3 percent Tuesday.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.

The Federal Reserve, aiming to free up lending and jolt the economy back to life, on Tuesday cut the federal funds rate from 1 percent to a target range of zero to 0.25 percent and pledged to keep funneling money into the market for mortgage investments.

Mortgage brokers are already reporting a surge of calls from borrowers trying to take advantage of the Federal Reserve's extraordinary actions.

On Wednesday, some mortgage brokers were quoting interest rates of close to 4.5 percent for people with strong credit and hefty down payments.

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