Fixed-rate mortgages continue their free fall, with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaging 3.63 percent this week and the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage staying below 3 percent, Freddie Mac reports. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is at its lowest level since the week ending May 23, 2013, when it averaged 3.59 percent.

"Mortgage rates continued to fall, albeit at a slower pace,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. Mortgage rates are falling amid declining bond yields and oil prices, Freddie Mac notes.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Jan. 22:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.63 percent, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 3.66 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.39 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.93 percent, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week’s 2.98 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.44 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.83 percent, with an average 0.4 point, dropping from last week’s 2.90 percent average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.15 percent.
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.37 percent, with an average 0.4 point, holding the same from last week. A year ago, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.54 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac