Mortgage rates close to recent lows, a single good news for the real estate market

Home loan rates were kept close to two-month lows last week, another chance for potential buyers to get their foot in the door of the troubled real estate market.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.81

% during the November 29 week, unchanged from the previous week, mortgage liquidity provider Freddie Mac said Thursday. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.25%, an increase of one basis point during the week. The five-year Treasury indexed variable rate hybrid mortgage averaged 4.12% (4.09%).

These rates do not include any fees associated with obtaining mortgage loans.

Mortgage rates are similar to the ten-year US Treasury

TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.81%

but with a delay. As worries about trade agreements and the growth of equities affect equity markets, investors have turned to the perceived security of bonds. Bond yields fall as prices rise and vice versa.

Read: Housing market now "reminds me of 2006," says Robert Shiller

. However, they are just as damaging to the mortgage industry. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, refinancing rates were the lowest since 2000 last week.

This causes big banks like Wells Fargo

WFC, -0.57%

and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPM, -0.79%

and non-bank lenders such as Movement Mortgage and LoanDepot are expected to cut thousands of jobs, according to the trade reports.

Freddie chief economist Sam Khater pointed out, however, that mortgage lending has risen lately as interest rates have fallen. This is a sign that "buyers on the fence are waiting for the right time to buy".

Read: The Fascination of Americans for "Mortgage Rates:" A Tour of the History of the Financial Market