Sara Routhier, Managing Editor of Features and Outreach, has professional experience as an educator, SEO specialist, and content marketer. She has over five years of experience in the insurance industry. As a researcher, data nerd, writer, and editor she strives to curate educational, enlightening articles that provide you with the must-know facts and best-kept secrets within the overwhelming worl...

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Joel Ohman is the CEO of a private equity-backed digital media company. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, author, angel investor, and serial entrepreneur who loves creating new things, whether books or businesses. He has also previously served as the founder and resident CFP® of a national insurance agency, Real Time Health Quotes. He also has an MBA from the University of South Florida. ...

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Reviewed by Joel Ohman
Founder, CFP®

UPDATED: Jul 13, 2012

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Home loan interest rates fell again this week, breaking yet another historic record. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly report on interest rates, 30- and 15-year home loans hit never-before-seen low rates.

As of Thursday, the 30-year fixed-rate home loan averaged at 3.56 percent. That’s a 0.06 percent drop from last week’s historic low level.

The 15-year fixed-rate home loan averaged at 2.74 percent, which is a 0.05 percent drop from last week’s reported level.

In addition to the low fixed-rate mortgages, mortgages with adjustable rates (ARMs) are also experiencing extremely low levels. However, only one of the two saw a decline.

The 5-year ARM averaged at 2.74 percent this week, which is down by 0.05 percent from last week.

The 1-year ARM averaged at 2.69 percent, which is actually up from last week by 0.01 percent.

While these extremely cheap home loan options provide wonderful opportunities for willing and able buyers looking to snatch up a new property, they’re revealing of something slightly more sinister than just a poor seller’s market.

“Following a lackluster employment report for June, long-term U.S. Treasury bond yields eased somewhat this week allowing fixed mortgage rates to reach yet another record low,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s vice president and chief economist, in a press release.

Our unemployment rate seems stuck at 8.2 percent, and last month’s job report, boasting the creation of only 80,000 new jobs nationwide, did little to help that number.

Judging by Nothaft’s explanation, if the unemployment problem remains consistent, so will our real estate market’s falling interest rates.