Zillow Sees New Record Lows for Mortgage Rates

Interest rates for the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage smashed new records for ""Zillow"":http://www.zillow.com/, which reported current rates falling as low as 3.71 percent, the lowest in survey history for the real estate Web site.

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Zillow found the newest numbers for mortgage rates with Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, which it sources from anonymous quotes and releases weekly.

The 30-year fixed-rate loan fell to new lows from 3.73 percent seen last week, and hovered at rates as low as 3.67 percent Monday morning.

""So far 2012 has brought us lower mortgage rates than most ever thought were possible, and we're likely going to remain close to these record low levels for the near-term,"" ""Erin Lantz"":http://www.zillow.com/profile/Erin-Lantz/, director of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, said in a statement.

Zillow reported rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages falling to 3.03 percent, with those for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) reaching 2.59 percent.

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Among states, most mortgage rates stayed roughly the same from last week, with Florida leading the way down with a seven basis-point decline to 3.7 percent this week from 3.77 percent.

Washington followed by falling six basis points, with mortgage rates descending statewide to 3.67 percent, down from 3.73 percent.

New Jersey lost five basis points, with mortgage rates shedding five basis points to land at 3.66 percent, down from 3.71 percent last week.

Mortgage rates slid back by two basis points in California, Illinois, and New York, reaching 3.71 percent, 3.73 percent, and 3.66 percent, respectively.

Only rates in Texas gained by one basis point, with these creeping forward from 3.72 percent last week to crest at 3.73 percent this week.

Many other states showed only marginal changes as investors continued fleeing from Europe to U.S. Treasury debt, widening yields and keeping mortgage rates at historic lows.

Lantz added that consumers and market watchers should ""look for rates to stay in this historically low range and possibly drop further if new concerns emerge around the European debt crisis,"" she added.

News outlets gave markets a lift Tuesday with reports that ratings agency Fitch Ratings decided it would not slash credit for France in 2012.

Still, the specter of sovereign default continues to hover over debt-saddled Europe, which wobbled near dissolution last year as Greece and Italy ousted prime ministers over the problem.