Mortgage Rates Reach New All-Time Lows. Again

Interest rates for mortgage loans plunged to new lows Thursday, as debt crises in Europe continued to weigh heavily on investors.

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Finance Web site ""Bankrate.com"":http://www.bankrate.com/ and mortgage company ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com/ released separate surveys signaling all-time lows for mortgage rates.

For Freddie, the 30-year fixed-rate loan fell to 3.88 percent, down from 3.89 percent last week. Bankrate.com revealed rates for the 30-year mortgage staying the same at 4.18 percent.

""There has been no progress toward resolving the European debt crisis, which is helping keep mortgage rates at record low

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levels,"" says ""Greg McBride"":http://www.bankrate.com/blogs/federal-reserve/about-greg-mcbride-cfa.aspx, a senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's recently downgraded several eurozone economies, including France, Italy, and Spain, citing concerns over their ability to avoid sovereign default and achieve growth.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage went up a percentage point for Freddie, reaching 3.17 percent, up from 3.16 percent last week. Bankrate.com reported rates for the 15-year loan likewise inching forward to 3.39 percent, up from 3.38 percent last week.

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) also stayed roughly the same for Freddie, which saw 5-year ARMs hover at 2.82 percent, unchanged from last week, and 2.74 percent, down from 2.76 percent last week.

Bankrate.com reported that 5-year and 1-year ARMs rose to 3.06 percent, up from 3.04 percent last week.

""Frank Nothaft"":http://www.freddiemac.com/bios/exec/nothaft.html, VP and chief economist with Freddie, suggested in a statement that mortgage rates remain low even while certain elements of the economy showed signs of revival.

He cited a Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index that lifted in January to reach the highest reading since February last year.