Rates On 30-year Loans Fall Below 5 Percent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rates for 30-year home loans dipped below 5 percent this week after rising for three straight weeks.

The average rate fell to 4.98 percent from 5.03 percent a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Rates had hovered below 5 percent for nearly a month until inching upward two weeks ago. They hit a record low of 4.78 percent in the spring, but are still attractive for people looking to buy a home or refinance.

The Federal Reserve has pumped $1.25 trillion into mortgage-backed securities in an effort to lower rates on mortgages and loosen credit. Rates on 30-year mortgages traditionally track yields on long-term government debt.

That, plus a federal tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers, has helped boost the ailing housing market.

The number of signed contracts to buy previously occupied homes rose for the eighth month in a row in September, while residential construction spending jumped by 3.9 percent, the largest gain in more than six years, data this week showed.