30-Year Home Loan Rate Stays at 5.21%

Rates on 30-year mortgages remained at generational lows this week.

The average rate on a 30-year conventional mortgage was 5.21%, unchanged from last week, lending giant Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Last week’s rate was the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking 30-year loans in 1971.

Mortgage rates have followed other long-term rates, such as on Treasury bonds, down this spring, as the Federal Reserve has strongly hinted that it wants to keep interest rates depressed to help the economy recover.

For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, the average rate edged up to 4.62% this week after dropping to a record low of 4.60% last week.

Rates for one-year adjustable mortgages declined to a new low of 3.51% from 3.54% last week, Freddie Mac said.

Refinancing activity accounted for 77.3% of all mortgage applications filed last week, up from 76.9% the week before, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. said.