Now is as good a time as any (if you have equity)

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) --Freddie Mac said Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average dropped from a week ago to a four-and-a-half year low as bond yields declined. The 30-year fixed-rate average was 5.47% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Dec. 11, down from 5.53% a week ago. Last year the average was 6.11%. The 30-year average has not been lower since March 25, 2004, when it averaged 5.4%, Freddie Mac said. "Following the release of the November employment report, which showed the largest monthly decline in jobs since December 1974, bond yields fell slightly this week allowing fixed-rate mortgage rates room to ease back a little further," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist, in a statement.

Interest Rates are Low

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Freddie Mac said Thursday the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average fell to 5.53% -- its lowest since January -- with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Dec. 3. In the previous period, the average was 5.97%, and the year-ago average was 5.96%. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has not been this low since Jan. 24 when it was 5.48%. "After Federal Reserve actions to increase liquidity in the mortgage market, interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages took a dive," Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist, said in a statement. "The recent plunge in rates contributed to the nearly 150% jump in conventional mortgage applications over the Thanksgiving week, led by almost a 300% surge in refinances, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Roughly three out of four mortgage applications were for refinance transactions, up from around half during the prior week."