30 Year Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows

The 30-year fixed rate loan mortgage averaged 4.71% this week, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began its weekly survey in 1991 and down from 4.78% last week. A year ago, the 30-year mortgage was 5.53%.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.27 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.29 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.77 percent. The 15-year FRM has never been this low since Freddie Mac started tracking it in 1991, and breaks the record low set last week.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.19 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up slightly from last week when it averaged 4.18 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.77 percent.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.25 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.35 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.02 percent. The 1-year ARM has not been this low since the week ending June 30, 2005, when it averaged 4.24 percent.

"Interest rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell for the fifth consecutive week to an all-time record low while the average rate on 5-year ARMs hovered near its record set in the previous week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "In addition, interest rates on 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages thus far in 2009 averaged one percentage point below their respective average in 2008.

If you want to know what's fueling the mortgage market, look no further than these record-setting lows. I spoke to my loan officer and he said there has never been a better time to refinance.