Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell slightly this week, dipping below 5 percent, the mortgage financier Freddie Mac said Thursday.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.97 percent this week, down from an average of 5.01 percent last week. Last year at this time, the rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 5.16 percent, Freddie Mac said.
Rates fell to a record low of 4.71 percent in early December. They have held around 5 percent thanks to a Federal Reserve program to pump $1.25 trillion into mortgage-backed securities to try to keep rates low and make home buying more affordable. That program is set to end March 31.
