Benchmark mortgage rate remains at 3.53 percent
BY Wire reports
Friday, February 08, 2013
2/08/13 at 4:59 AM
The nation's benchmark mortgage rate is unchanged this week near historic lows.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average 30-year, fixed-rate home loan stayed at 3.53 percent. That's still near the 3.31 percent rate reached in November, the lowest in records dating to 1971.
Cheap mortgages are encouraging more people to buy homes and refinance, trends that could help boost the economy this year.
