Rates on 30-year home loans fall to 4.99 pct
By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 9 a.m.
WASHINGTON — Rates for 30-year home loans fell to a shade below 5 percent this week but remained above last month’s record lows.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.99 percent, down from 5.06 percent a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday.
It was the third-straight weekly decline. The drop comes after interest rates fell in the bond market this week as concerns about the economy increased demand for the safety of government debt, which is closely tied to mortgage rates.