Mortgage rates fall to lowest level of 2011

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Fixed-rate mortgages are at their lowest point of the year, Freddie Mac says.

The widely watched weekly survey, released Thursday, showed mortgage rates declining for the fifth consecutive week amid mixed economic and housing data. The 30-year fixed-rate loans averaged 4.61% and the 15-year, 3.80%. Borrowers would have paid 0.7% of the loan amount in upfront lender fees to obtain the rate, Freddie Mac said.

Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.84%, according to Freddie Mac, which surveys rates lenders are offering to well-qualified borrowers who make down payments of at least 20% or have that much equity in their homes if they are refinancing.

As rates fall, applications for home loans have risen. The Mortgage Bankers Assn. said Wednesday that applications for new loans last week were 7.8% higher than in the previous week.

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-- E. Scott Reckard