Mortgage rates were down again this week.

The average 30-year fixed-rate fell 5 basis points, to 5.92 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

The average 15-year fixed -- a popular option for refinancing -- dropped 8 basis points, to 5.67 percent. The average jumbo 30-year fixed drifted down 9 basis points, to 7.46 percent.

Adjustable-rate mortgages also fell. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage plummeted 21 basis points, to 5.96 percent. The popular 5/1 ARM dropped 13 basis points, to 6.14 percent.

Meanwhile, mortgage loan activity exploded as mortgage rates plunged following the Federal Reserve's Nov. 25 announcement that it will buy up to $500 billion of securitized loans.

For the week ending Nov. 28, mortgage activity increased a seasonally adjusted 112.1 percent from the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Rates were adjusted to account for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Refinancing activity increased by a whopping 203.3 percent, while applications for new purchases grew by 38 percent, according to the MBA.

-- Chris Kissell

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