Mortgage rates plunge: For a few borrowers, 30-year fixed loans under 4%

(Los Angeles Times)- Would a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for less than 4% make you think about refinancing or even buying a home in today's battered housing markets?

Home loans at that seemingly hallucinatory rate were out there this week, mortgage industry insiders said Tuesday -- at least for those few gold-plated borrowers willing to fork over king-size upfront discount points and origination fees.

Home loans almost always march in tandem with the yield on long-term government bonds.

And a combination of bleak economic news and lawmakers' agreement to raise the federal debt ceiling sent the yield on the 10-year Treasury note plunging to 2.62% on Tuesday -- down from more than 3.7% in February.

As usual, mortgage rates followed, reaching their lowest point since November. Read more here…