Thirty- and 15-year mortgage rates dipped to record lows for a second straight week, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Thirty-year mortgage rates stood at an average of 5.79% this week, breaking the previous record low of 5.84% the previous week. Freddie Mac began tracking 30-year mortgages in 1971.
Fifteen-year mortgages stood at an average of 5.14%, down from the previous record of 5.21% last week. Freddie Mac began tracking 15-year mortgages in 1991.
One-year adjustable-rate mortgages were almost unchanged at an average of 3.83%, compared with last week's record low of 3.81%.
"Debilitating forces, such as looming war clouds in the Mideast, declining consumer confidence and other issues, are making an economic rebound difficult," said Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft. "And when the economy is weak, interest rates tend to follow suit.