WASHINGTON — Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest level of the year, as rates on government securities declined. Fixed mortgage rates closely track interest rates paid on long-term Treasury bonds.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.93 percent, from 5 percent a week earlier. It was the lowest level since mid-December, when rates averaged 4.81 percent.
The drop came as investors shifted money from risky European debt to safer US securities. Bond yields fell as a result, and that lowered mortgage rates.
