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When will the madness end??  Just when we thought mortgage rates were silly low, they plummet to an even sillier low according to this week’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey from Freddie Mac.

I know what you’re saying to yourself right now: “But Eric, our favorite financial blogger of all time, I can’t believe how low these rates are. This is damn-near impossible!”

My rebuttal to that is simple – believe it, baby!

30-year fixed mortgage rates dropped from 3.99 percent with 0.7 points last week to 3.94 percent with 0.8 points this week.  If you remember correctly, 30-year fixed mortgage rates hit 3.94 percent back on October 6^th, 2011 and the mortgage world was sent into a tizzy because it was the first time they slipped below 4.00.  Since then, rates have been below 4.00 percent five more times.

This is unheard of!

15-year fixed mortgage rates fell to 3.21 percent with 0.8 points this week from 3.27 percent with 0.8 points last week.  This is also a record low.  To put it into perspective for you, last year, 15-year fixed rate mortgages came in at 4.17 percent.  That is almost a full percentage point drop over a 12-month span.

Are you kidding me?  I had to rub my eyes to make sure I was seeing it properly.

5/1-year ARMs slipped from 2.93 percent with 0.5 points last week to 2.86 percent with 0.6 points this week.  1-year ARMs were the black sheep of the family and saw an increase to 2.81 percent with 0.6 points this week from 2.80 percent with 0.6 points last week.  Last year, 5/1-year ARMs averaged 3.77 percent, while 1-year ARMs averaged 3.35 percent.

Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac and my make believe buddy, was surprised that mortgage rates remained near all-time record lows this week, given the rough housing environment.

He explained, “In its December 13^th monetary policy announcement, the Federal reserve reiterated the housing market remains depressed.  Over the first nine months of 2011, households lost almost $400 billion in property value which contributed to a $1.4 trillion reduction in overall net worth.  In addition, serious delinquency rates (90 or more days delinquent plus foreclosures) on mortgages increased slightly between June 30 and September 30 of the year, breaking a six-quarter consecutive decline, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.”

So, mortgage rates tie a record low, and you’re still debating whether or not to grab yourself a new 30-year fixed, 15-year fixed, or to refinance.

I have one piece of advice for you – GET OFF OF YOUR BEHIND AND CALL ONE OF OUR HOME LOAN EXPERTS TODAY!

You know I’m serious because I wrote it in all caps, too.

Eric Mally is a writer for Quicken Loans, an amazing place to work.  Find out more about being a part of our team at Quicken Loans and learn how we Amaze our clients.

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