Average 30-year fixed mortgage rates hit fresh record lows this week--of 4.85 percent--after the Fed announced plans to buy up additional Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities and long-term Treasury Bonds.
[See: Mortgage Rates to Fall Further: 7 Things to Know]
From The Associated Press:
Rates on 30-year mortgages plunged 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 Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped 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 back to 1971.
The previous record low of 4.96 percent was set in the week of Jan. 15.
But as we saw yesterday, the lower rates appear to be a much bigger boon to the refinancing market than to the home purchase market.
[Check out Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows, Refinancing Applications Jump]
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