WASHINGTON — Rates on 30-year mortgages, pushed down by lower Treasury bond yields, fell this week to 4.19 percent, the lowest level in decades.
Investors are buying up Treasury bonds in anticipation of Federal Reserve moves designed to lower mortgage rates and yields on corporate debt.
As a result, the average rate for 30-year fixed loans dropped to the lowest level on records dating to 1971, Freddie Mac said.
The average rate on 15-year fixed loans fell to 3.62 percent, the lowest on records dating back to 1991.
Rates have fallen since spring as investors shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds. That demand lowers their yields, which mortgage rates tend to track.
Low rates, however, have not helped the nation’s struggling housing market, which recorded its worst summer in more than a decade. But they have led to a surge in refinancing.
Associated Press October 15, 2010
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