Mortgage rates have lowered, once again, this week. The 30-year fixed rate hit another record low at 4.10%. The 15-year fixed rate and the 5-year adjustable rate lowered just slightly, by 0.01% and 0.02% respectively. The 15-year fixed rate is now at 3.35% and the 5-year adjustable rate is now at 3.03%. With the strengthening U.S. economy, rates would be assumed to rise, but the debt problem in Greece is holding the rates down where they are.

The manufacturing figures and the retail sales report for the U.S. were released this week, showing an improvement in the economy. The manufacturing figures show the production volume in U.S. factories. In December production increased by 1.5 percent and in January it increased 0.7 percent. The increase in December was the biggest growth in manufacturing in five years. The retail sales report for January was released this week and was not what was expected. In January sales picked up slightly, rising 0.4 percent. These increases show that the economy is starting to pick up again.

The housing report was also released this week showing that there was a rise in the housing market index. For those who may not know, the housing market index measures builders’ assessments of current single-family home sales, traffic from potential buyers, and sales expectations for the next six months. The housing market index rose from 25 in January, to 29 in February. While this number is low for the housing market index, it is the highest that the index has been since May of 2007. It has been rising over the past three months showing some improvement in the housing market, which also shows an improvement in the economy.

With the debt problems still going on in Greece many people feel it is the safest to leave their money in the U.S. Treasury bonds. On Wednesday, February 15th, the Greek leaders agreed on a new financial bailout plan. This would normally be a good sign of a recovery in Greece but there are concerns that some of the creditors will delay it until after the elections in April.

With the economy strengthening and the Greece debt undecided, mortgage rates will most likely stay around where they are now. But if Greece implements the bailout plan, we could start to see the mortgage rates increasing.