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2011 was an interesting year for mortgage rates to say the least.  After all, with the European debt crisis, the United States debt crisis, and a directionless stock market, fluctuations in the mortgage realm was more than expected.

The mortgage world was thrown into a tizzy back in October when 30-year fixed rates came in at 3.94 percent, the first time in the history of the modern mortgage.  Now, we have seen 30-year fixed mortgage rates come in lower than 4.00 percent six different times since then.

15-year fixed mortgages, 5/1-year ARMs and 1-year ARMs all set record lows throughout the course of the year as well.

So how did the final weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey of the year look from our dear friends at Freddie Mac?

As Larry David would say, “Pretty, pretty, pretty good.”  Don’t take it from me – listen to Larry.

30-year fixed mortgage rates closed the year off at 3.95 percent with 0.7 points, up slightly from last week’s record setting 3.91 percent with 0.7 points.  Clearly, this is down significantly from the 2011 peak of 5.05 percent set back on February 10, 2011.  Last year at this time, 30-year fixed mortgage rates came in at 4.86 percent.

15-year fixed mortgage rates increased marginally from last week’s 3.21 percent with 0.8 points to 3.24 percent with 0.8 points this week.  Last year, 15-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 4.20 percent.  The highest rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage rate this year was also set on February 10, 2011, when they averaged 4.29 percent with 0.7 points.

5/1-year ARMs averaged 2.88 percent with 0.6 points this week, up from last week’s 2.85 percent with 0.6 points.  12 months ago, the 5/1-year ARM averaged 3.77 percent.  The highest a 5/1-year ARM came in this year was 3.92 percent, also set on February 10, 2011.

1-year ARMs came in this week at 2.78 percent with 0.6 points after seeing an astronomical increase from last week’s 2.77 percent with 0.6 points.  Last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 3.26 percent.  As for this year’s highest rate, well, that was 3.40 percent and was set on…wait for it…wait for it…February 24, 2011.

You thought I was going to say February 10, 2011, didn’t you?  I crack myself up sometimes.

Now, for the moment you have all been waiting for, it’s Frank Nothaft quote time!

Frank was kind enough to reiterate the fact that mortgage rates are at historic lows, but also provided some encouragement for the housing market.

He explained, “mortgage rates ended the year hovering near historic lows in an already affordable housing market.  For instance, the seasonally-adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller® 20-City Composite home price index in October was the lowest seen since March 2003. The largest hit areas were Las Vegas with the lowest reading since January 1997 and Atlanta which was since June 1998. It’s not surprising then that over 5 percent of households in December plan to purchase a home over the next six months, the highest share since May, according to The Conference Board.”

There you have it, folks, your final weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey analysis of the year.  Sad?  Me too.

Don’t worry, I’ll be here for all of 2012 giving you mortgage updates every Thursday afternoon.

Eric Mally is a contributor for Quicken Loans’ Zing Blog.  Stay connected with us on our Facebook page and our Twitter page to find out all the ways we’re Engineered to Amaze.

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