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Mortgage rates remained largely unchanged this week as debt crises in Europe drag on, with finance leaders and heads of state there seemingly unable to broker a solution. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac and finance Web site Bankrate.com each released separate surveys chronicling lurches in interest rates for loans. Bankrate.com also fielded record lows for jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, with rates for the loan falling to 4.68 percent for the first time in the history of the survey.

Mortgage rates ran a tepid streak started three weeks ago by hovering at around 4 percent this week, according to Freddie Mac, largely because investors continue to flee European sovereign bonds for the safe haven of U.S. Treasury debt. For Freddie, rates for the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage inched forward by a percentage point, placing it at 4 percent after the loan averaged 3.99 percent. Bankrate.com noted the same difference, reporting that the 30-year loan fell to 4.24 percent this week, down from 4.25 percent last week.

Ongoing trouble in Europe meshed with low home prices to keep a heel on mortgage rates this week, with Freddie Mac offering up news that interest rates for loans fell below 4 percent for the second time this year. The GSE released a weekly survey alongside finance Web site Bankrate.com, which disagreed by reporting that mortgage rates climbed this week. For Freddie, rates for the benchmark 30-year loan fell to 3.99 percent, down one percentage point from last week. Bankrate.com said that the fixed-rate mortgage went up to 4.25 percent.

Nonfarm payrolls counted more than 80,000 new jobs for the economy over October, slashing the unemployment rate by a few percentage points but at a clip that analysts say will marginally improve an otherwise uncertain economic outlook. The Labor Department reported Friday that the jump to more than 100,000 new jobs over September - a facelift driven largely by a return to work by striking Verizon employees - slid back to new figures with few surprising numbers for several industries.

After inching forward in the last few weeks, mortgage rates again plummeted on fresh concerns about the euro zone crisis, with rates dropping to 4.00 percent, the second-lowest reading for Freddie Mac. The GSE released a weekly survey alongside finance Web site Bankrate. Freddie reported the 30-year loan falling from 4.24 percent recorded last week, not a far cry from the 10-percentage point plunge to 4.23 percent from 4.33 percent that Bankrate.com recorded. Investor confidence shot up after Europe agreed to bail out Greece.

Mortgage rates largely remained near historic lows from the week earlier, reflecting a sense of uncertainty that continues to persist among wary homebuyers. Bankrate.com denoted a new low for the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which fell from 4.38 percent last week to crest at 4.33 percent this week. Finance Web site Bankrate.com and mortgage giant Freddie Mac polled financial institutions and the like in their weekly surveys. Freddie differed by few turns, signaling the loss of one percentage point this week.

Federal regulators announced their intentions Monday to expand the Home Affordable Refinance Program available via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Among other modifications, the FHFA said it plans to eliminate a number of risk-based fees for short-term mortgage borrowers, take off the 125-percent loan-to-value ratio for loans guaranteed by the GSEs, and void requirements for new property appraisals in lieu of automated estimates. Market watchers around the industry offered reactions that ranged from skepticism to optimism.

Interest rates for mortgage loans hovered at around the same numbers this week seen last week, even while the construction sector celebrated with boons in starts and confidence. Freddie found the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage cresting at 4.11 percent, slightly down from 4.12 last week but not far from 4.21 percent seen during the same time last year. Bankrate.com disagreed with the mortgage giant by few turns, offering an increase from 4.21 percent to 4.37 percent this week.

After hitting rock bottom last week, mortgage rates returned to previous lows on a somewhat tenuous climb this week as European central bankers seemed to reach a deal and a U.S. jobs report netted better-than-expected results. Leaping forward from a history-making 3.94 percent last week, interest rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.12 percent, according to Freddie. Bankrate.com offered up similar results, showcasing a 4.37-percent 30-year loan rate this week, up from 4.21 percent.

The U.S. economy bucked low expectations Friday with news that it added over 100,000 jobs over September, masking other figures that continued to confirm the rising appeal of rental properties alongside a decline in homeownership. Nonfarm payroll employment tacked on 137,000 new faces in the private sector, alongside 103,000 for the nonfarm jobs payroll overall ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô a solid forward step in lieu of pale figures from August, which saw the number of lost jobs eclipsing new ones.