Rate on 30-year mortgage falls to record 3.87 pct.

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed.
1 H6 Q, p$ ~+ S/ ?- h) FMortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.87 percent this week. That below the previous record of 3.88 hit two weeks ago.
  F: R, ]9 F8 W: k2 KThe average on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.14 percent, also a record low. Records for mortgage rates date back to the 1950s.
$ t& G* |  {& r  \0 P; q; ^4 OMortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.
. G8 [& t! I$ l# L" pRates have been low for more than a year, and the average rate on the 30-year loan has hovered near 4 percent for more than three months. Yet few people can afford to buy a home or qualify for a loan. Those who can have already done so.
8 k" D. M7 I6 I  R6 I6 s' u. ZHigh unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many don't want to sink money into a home that they fear could lose value over the next few years. 1 F/ X4 w& _* \* z
Sales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century. ) c) V" o* X. L3 K  H) s0 Z) A
Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact. - v5 k' j6 o9 Z4 K, F* u8 D; k. i
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Mortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels. - R3 C7 r3 X: {# r
To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. 4 Q3 c+ A- I; s7 l( A
The average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
3 [/ O1 v0 C0 i/ ?7 \" qThe average fee for the 30-year loan rose to 0.8 from 0.7; the average on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 0.8.
, b0 u- l2 }9 YFor the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate fell to 2.80 percent from 2.85 percent. The average on the one-year adjustable loan rose to 2.76 percent from 2.74 percent.
1 x" Z" m5 f* }) {  s. fThe average fee on the five-year adjustable loan rose was unchanged at 0.7; the average on the one-year adjustable-rate loan was unchanged at 0.6.