Mortgage rates match all time low

Freddie Mac's most recent Primary Mortgage Market Survey found mortgage rates have matched all time lows for the first week of 2012. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 3.91 percent matching the record low and marking the fifth consecutive week the 30-year fixed rate has been below 4 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.23 percent, down from 3.24 percent the week before and 4.13 percent seen the same time a year ago. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.86 percent, down from 2.88 percent the week before, while the 1-year Treasury indexed ARM averaged 2.8 percent, up from 2.78 percent last week.

Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac, said the mortgage rates in 2012 started off low as positive housing reports were turned in, suggesting signs of improvement. Pending home sales improved, construction spending increased and manufacturing expanded in December.

In an interview with Bloomberg, George Mokrzan, director of economics at Huntington Bank in Columbus, Ohio, said the continued low mortgage rates are helping buyers afford a home, as seen in a rise of housing demand and new home sales in November.

"The affordability is at record levels," Mokrzan told the source. "You're starting to see some firming in the sales data."

More News