Mortgage rates took a beating last week. Even the most aggressive lenders are now creeping towards 5.00% (for WELL-QUALIFIED borrowers).

During the course of the holiday shortened work week, benchmark Treasury note yields rose persistently which lead mortgage backed security prices lower and forced lenders to offer even higher mortgage rates. I say “even higher” as a reminder of something that AQ has been writing all over Mortgage News Daily lately.

As always with Treasury auctions, supply is known in advance so market participants look at the demand for our nation’s debt to gauge its success or failure. Despite record amount of U.S. borrowing, demand for our nation’s debt has been quite strong all year, especially from foreign central banks, which has helped keep mortgage rates near historic low levels. If mortgage rates are to stop rising, we need foreign central bankers, China and Japan specifically, to continue providing support heading into 2010.

NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) – U.S. mortgage rates fell below 5 percent for the first time in three weeks, a key level that may boost home home loan demand and help the hard-hit housing market recover, a closely watched mortgage survey showed Thursday.

Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.98 percent for the week ending Nov. 5, down from the previous week’s 5.03 percent, according to a survey released on Thursday by home funding company Freddie Mac.

NEW YORK, June 18 (Reuters) – U.S. mortgage rates dropped in the latest week, retreating sharply from a seven-month high as fears over inflation abated and Treasury yields dropped.

Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages plunged to 5.38 percent for the week ending June 18, according to a survey released on Thursday by home funding company Freddie Mac.

A year ago, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.42 percent, 15-year mortgages were at 6.02 percent and the one-year ARM was at 5.19 percent. A year ago, the 5/1 ARM averaged 5.89 percent.

Rates on conforming mortgages fell again this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hitting a record low of 4.78% for the week ending April 2, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey results released Thursday.

30-year fixed-rate, 15-year fixed-rate and 5-year ARM hit record lows

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.85% last week, and 5.88% a year ago. This week, it’s at its lowest level since the survey began in 1971.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages also hit a record low, averaging 4.52% this week. The mortgage averaged 4.58% last week and 5.42% a year ago. It hasn’t been lower since Freddie Mac began tracking the mortgage in 1991.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.92%, another record low; Freddie Mac has tracked this mortgage since 2005. The ARM averaged 4.96% last week and 5.59% a year ago.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. 30-year fixed home loan rates on Wednesday slid by as much as 3/8 percentage point to about 5 percent, nearing record lows, after the Federal Reserve more than doubled its planned purchases of mortgage-related securities.

Home purchases have been lagging refinancing even as rates and falling prices make ownership more affordable.

While homeowners are often compelled to cut current costs, worries about job loss or hopes that prices will slump more keep many potential buyers at bay.

The mortgage market is already overwhelmed with business, especially after consolidation and layoffs slashed staffing levels, he said. In the past, lenders have kept rates higher than they otherwise would just to slow the frantic pace.

WASHINGTON – Rates on 30-year mortgages fell to a record level for a fourth straight week, dropping to the lowest mark since Freddie Mac started tracking the data nearly 28 years ago.

Rates have been falling since late November, when the Federal Reserve announced a plan to spend up to $500 billion to buy-up mortgage-backed securities in efforts to buttress the distressed U.S. housing market.

Freddie Mac reported Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed mortgages dropped to 5.01 percent this week, down from the previous record of 5.1 percent set last week. It was the 10th straight weekly drop, and nearly a full point below the rate of 5.87 percent at the same time last year.