Mortgage Rates Fall Further

Thursday, August 12, 2010 11:18 AM

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Mortgage rates sank to the lowest level in decades this week, pushed down by the Federal Reserve's move to buy up government debt in a bid to lift the economic recovery.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.44 percent, down from 4.49 percent last week. That's the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed loan dropped to 3.92 percent, down from 3.95 percent last week and the lowest on record.

Rates have fallen since spring as investors sought the safety of Treasury bonds, lowering their yield. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.