Mortgage rates fall to record low

30-year fixed loan averages 4.85%; stocks extend rally
Friday, March 27, 2009 3:00 AM
By Alan Zibel
Entire article is here: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2009/03/27/mortgage_rates_0327.ART_ART_03-27-09_C12_JHDC9V2.html?sid=101

clipped from www.dispatch.com WASHINGTON -- Rates on 30-year mortgages fell this week to the lowest level on record after the Federal Reserve launched a new effort to assist the staggering U.S. housing market. Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said yesterday that the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.85 percent this week from 4.98 percent last week. It was the lowest in the history of Freddie Mac's survey, which dates to 1971. The previous record low of 4.96 percent was set in the week of Jan. 15. Rates fell after the Fed said last week that it will pump $1.2 trillion into the economy in an effort to lower mortgage rates and loosen credit. The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.58 percent this week from 4.61 percent last week. Mortgage applications surged last week, mostly from borrowers looking to refinance. The Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday that its application index rose more than 30 percent last week.