Mortgage giant Freddie Mac on Thursday reported that rates had fallen to the lowest level on records dating back to 1971. Average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 5.19%, down from the year's previous low of 5.47%, set last week. On Wednesday, some mortgage brokers were quoting mortgage rates of close to 4.5 percent for people with strong credit and hefty down payments. The national average rate on 30-year, fixed mortgages was 5.06 percent on Wednesday, according to financial publisher HSH Associates -- the lowest since the 1960s and down from 5.3 percent Tuesday.
However, the interest rate is still around +7% for jumbo loans. Moreover, low interest rates does not spur new mortgage applications, instead refinance increased dramatically. From the Big Picture: Fed's Rate Moves fail to spur Home buying:
Jobs data from the government, while better than expected, was still sobering. The Labor Department on Thursday said its tally of initial jobless benefit claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 554,000 from an upwardly revised figure of 575,000 the previous week. The new tally was slightly below economists' expectations of 558,000 claims. The 4-week moving average was 543,750, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 541,000. Another slight improvement was seen in the number of people who continue to receive jobless benefits, which declined to 4.38 million from 4.43 million the previous week, still remain near the highest level since 1982. Economists expected a slight increase to 4.45 million.
From Calculated Risk: Weekly Unemployment Claims
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