WASHINGTON – April 17, 2009 – Rates on 30-year mortgages dipped this week after rising a week earlier, and remain just above record lows.

Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.82 percent this week, down from an average of 4.87 percent last week. Rates have been below 5 percent for five consecutive weeks.

The all-time low of 4.78 percent was recorded on the week of April 2. Freddie Mac’s survey dates back to 1971.

Low rates have sparked a surge in refinancing activity, with nearly 80 percent of new home loan applications coming from borrowers seeking to refinance. Freddie Mac’s sibling company, Fannie Mae, refinanced $77 billion in loans last month, nearly double February’s level and the best month for such activity since 2003, when the housing market was still surging.

Mortgage rates fell dramatically over the winter. They fell further after the Federal Reserve said last month it would buy $1.2 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion in long-term government debt, which traditionally influences rates on 30-year home loans.

“The housing industry is starting to exhibit some positive signs,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement but noted they were “scarce and too early to tell how permanent.”

Homebuilders are feeling a lot more optimistic that the worst housing downturn in decades may be finally starting to turn around. An index of builders’ confidence released Wednesday posted its biggest one-month jump in five years in April as many homebuyers seized on lower prices and incentives, and took advantage of lower interest rates and tax credits.

Qualifying for a loan, however, is still tough. Lenders have tightened their standards dramatically over the past year, so the best rates are available to those with solid credit.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.48 percent this week from 4.54 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.88 percent from 4.93 percent last week. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 4.91 percent from 4.83 percent.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The nationwide fee averaged 0.6 point last week for all mortgages in Freddie Mac’s survey except for one-year adjustable mortgages, which had an average fee of 0.7 point.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press, Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer.