Pushed down by lower Treasury bond yields, 30-year mortgage rates fell to 4.19 percent, down from 4.27 percent the previous week, which is the lowest they've hit in decades. At the beginning of April the 30-year rate was 5.08 percent.
In anticipation of a move by the Federal Reserve designed to lower mortgage rates and yields on corporate debt, investors are buying up Treasury bonds and as a result the average rate for 30-year fixed loans dropped to the lowest level on records dating back to 1971.
As investors shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds, rates have mostly fallen since spring and that demand lowers their yields, which mortgage rates tend to track.
Sadly, lower interest rates have not helped the nations struggling housing market.