WASHINGTON – The average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages held steady at a record low for a third straight week, offering more incentive to those looking to buy a home or refinance.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on 30-year home loans was unchanged at 3.87 percent. That’s the lowest level since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average rate on 15-year fixed mortgages was unchanged at 3.16 percent. That’s up from a record-low 3.14 percent reached two weeks ago.
The low rates have done little to boost the struggling housing market. Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks in the past year. Yet few people can qualify for the rates and many of those who can have already done so.
And prospective buyers don’t want to put money into a home that they fear could fall in price over the next few years.
Sales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year.
New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records dating back a half-century.
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales this year.
But so far, they have had minimal effect.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said mixed readings on consumer confidence underscore the fragile condition of the market.
Surveys of small business owner and homebuilder confidence rose in January and February, respectively. But the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment fell in February, breaking a five-month upward trend.
To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average rates don’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for 30-year loans was unchanged at 0.8; the average on 15-year fixed mortgages rose to 0.8 from 0.7.