30-year mortgage

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell below 4 percent for just the second time in history. Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on the 30-year fixed loan fell to 3.99 percent, down from 4 percent last week. Five weeks ago, it dropped to a record low of 3.94 percent, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Mortgage interest rates have never -- seriously never -- been lower than they were this year. Right around the second week of November, interest rates on a 30-year-fixed rate loan dropped to 4.17%, according to Fannie Mae -- by all accounts, the lowest they've ever been in the 40 years or so that...

In the decade-long run-up to the bursting of the housing market bubble, millions of Americans got caught up in playing a game of home loan limbo: how low can my payments go? And with every cha-ching of the refinance ATM, the recipe of lower payments and more cash-out led to one result: an extended...

It may be time to have a re-think! About what? About 30-year fixed rate mortgages. I know, this is practically sacrosanct territory in this country and questioning it is like questioning, well, God or country. But there are those who are, in fact, raising some questions about the wisdom of this...