There is a record drop in mortgage rates for fixed 30-year loans, among signs that the housing market has started emerging from the worst slump since the 1930s.

Rates fell to lowest ever recorded 4.71%

The rate has become as low as 4.71% for the week ended today. This has been recorded as the lowest since Freddie Mac began compiling the data in 1971.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac of McLean, Virginia,  said today in a statement that the average 15-year rate was 4.27%.

Increase in Mortgage Applications

Low mortgage costs and a tax credit for first-time homebuyers have rendered help to increase the demand for property as in October the number of contracts to buy previously owned homes rose and last week there has been a surge in mortgage applications.

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Mortgage company Freddie Mac said that this week the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.04%, that has dropped down from 5.07% a week earlier.

15-year fixed-rate mortgage has dropped to 4.47%

The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage has dropped to 4.47% from 4.5% last week, these were the lowest level on records that has ever recorded since 1991.

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