The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) has reported a new record-low on U.S. mortgage rates.

According to the McLean, Virginia-based mortgage finance company, rates slumped for the ninth straight week to 4.42% for a 30-year fixed mortgage. It was down from the previous week’s 4.44% and is the lowest since Freddie Mac started gathering the date in 1971. Meanwhile, the rate for a 15-year mortgage stood at 3.9%.

The new record low seemed to have spurred mortgage applications, but mainly due to refinancing. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, homes sales have yet to pick up. The trade group sees unemployment and the end of the federal government’s first-time home buyers’ tax credit as factors that counter the effect of low mortgage rates on home sales. Such low rates are supposed to spur homes sales and refinancing.

Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida, said that unless there’s a full recovery in the job market, there likely won’t be a full recovery in housing. “The weak sales are reflective of the general economic weakness. A lot of it still gets back to the job market,” he said. If so, a housing recovery may not be on the way. According to the Labor Department, applications for unemployment benefits set the highest number since November.

For more real estate news, just go to http://rehab-real-estate.com/ right now.