30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Dips to 4.7 Percent

Rates on fixed mortgages dipped for the second straight week as Treasury yields fell.

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Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year mortgage dropped to 4.71 percent this week from 4.77 percent the previous week. It hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November.

The average rate on the 15-year loan slipped to 4.08 percent from 4.13 percent. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records starting in 1991.

Treasury yields dropped after the December employment report came in weaker than expected. That drove investors to buy safer Treasury bonds, driving up prices and lowering the yields. Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.