Mortgage Rates Drop Below 4% For First Time

Thursday marks the first time in history that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the U.S. has dropped below the 4% mark. Rates in the U.S. fell to just 3.94% on news that the Federal Reserve plans to reshuffle its portfolio of securities.

The new rate announced by Freddie Mac beats last weeks record of 4.01% according to lending giant Freddie Mac.

Falling even lower was the rate on a 15-year fixed loan which dipped down to 3.26% also a record on the popular refinancing option.

Mortgage rates in the U.S. have remained low over the last year, staying below 5% for all but two weeks, however even with extremely low rates housing sales have remained flat. According to Newser 2011 is shaping up to be the worse sales year for previously owned homes in 14 years.

The drop in homes sales despite extremely low mortgage rates is blamed on high unemployment, a lack of pay raises and heavy debts loads which have been mixed together with uncertainty about the marketplace.

Also falling was five-year adjustable-rate mortgages which were down to 2.96 percent and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages which now sit at just 2.95 percent.

Do you plan to refinance at the new super low 30-year fixed or 15-year fixed rates?