Mortgage Rates Hover Near Record Lows . . . Still

Debt crises in Europe once more left interest rates for mortgage loans near record lows.

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Finance Web site ""Bankrate.com"":http://www.bankrate.com/ found 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 4.09 percent, down from 4.10 percent last week, alongside a 15-year loan that hit 3.28 percent this week, down from 3.32 percent.

Bankrate.com said that 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) meanwhile fell from 3.05 percent last week to 3.03 percent this week.

A statement from the Web site cited ""suspect"" recent economic data and ongoing problems across the Atlantic, where European Union member states face low growth prospects and still-high

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sovereign debt.

News out of Britain this week found that the bulwark economy slipped into a double-dip recession during the first quarter, a move that analysts attributed to steep austerity policies, as the country grapples with public debt.

""Together, these are keeping both bond yields and mortgage rates at historic lows,"" Bankrate.com added, referencing how investor interest in Treasury debt often leads interest rates to wax or wane.

""Frank Nothaft"":http://www.freddiemac.com/bios/exec/nothaft.html, VP and chief economist with ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com/, differed by tying still-low mortgage rates this week to anticipation of monetary policy changes from the Federal Open Market Committee.

""The Fed stated that it expects economic growth to remain moderate and then pick up gradually,"" he said in a statement. ""In addition, it noted that labor market conditions have improved in recent months and it anticipates the unemployment rate will decline gradually.""

The GSE uncovered 3.88 percent in interest rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which fell from 3.90 percent last week, while the 15-year loan dipped by a few basis points to 3.12 percent, down from 3.13 percent.

Freddie said that 5-year and 1-year ARMs fell to 2.85 percent and 2.74 percent, down from 2.78 percent and 2.81 percent, respectively.