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.
% x! A3 P8 g3 i2 L7 ?" LMortgage 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* z: X8 k3 j9 T  M, X$ [' S2 SThe 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. ( @/ V. j: @! \( c8 U
Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week. . k" k6 {- e* L' M6 {/ ]2 Q
Rates 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. ( [2 c, a0 a+ Y1 m" x  c% A2 }
High 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. 7 m/ g  U4 n0 @. h9 h
Sales of previously occupied homes were dismal last year. New-home sales in 2011 were the worst on records going back half a century.
- E' E" Q/ G( w( `) ]Builders are hopeful that the low rates could boost sales next year. But so far, they have had a minimal impact.
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' g6 Y) L- L' y! u. UMortgage applications have risen slightly over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But they are coming off extremely low levels.
4 [( ]6 p$ ]! m2 T/ @To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. 9 c3 Y2 v" }. ?
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. ; P. w; d9 ^$ X% v/ Y8 L, g
The 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. ) D4 c- E7 D+ h( E
For 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. ( N) F- I- z. M% s
The 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.