WASHINGTON — Rising worries about a weak economy pushed rates on 30-year mortgages below the 6 percent mark for only the second time in more than two years.
Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.87 percent this week.
That was down from 6.07 percent last week and was the lowest level for 30-year mortgages in the past two years. Only once during that time have rates fallen below 6 percent, dipping to 5.96 percent on Dec. 6.
Analysts attributed this week’s decline to last Friday’s employment report, which showed the jobless rate jumping to 5 percent in December, up from 4.7 percent in November. It was the highest jobless mark in two years and the biggest one-month increase since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Economists said they are not looking for mortgage rates to fall much further.
