Mortgage Rates Hit 19-Year Low

Mortgage rates fell to a 19-year low this week after the Federal Reserve pushed down interest rates in an effort to revive the flagging economic recovery.

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Friday that the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 8.13%, down from 8.29% the week before and 8.48% two weeks ago. It was the lowest average since July, 1973.

An economist said the drop, which mirrors the fall of long-term rates in the bond market, should breathe new life into the housing market and revive a boom in mortgage refinancing that waned this year after rates bottomed out in mid-January.

The weekly average for 30-year loans had declined to 8.23% in mid-January and then climbed to 9.03% before starting its latest downtrend.

The average rate on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 5.56% this week, down from 5.69% a week earlier and 5.78% two weeks ago. The latest average is the lowest since the corporation began tracking ARMs in 1984.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.