Mortgage Rates Below 4 Percent?

Washington, DC, Dec. 11, 2008--A federal regulator Wednesday suggested that mortgage rates could fall  "well below 4 percent."

James Lockhart, whose agency oversees government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, made the comments at a meeting of Women in Housing & Finance.

Treasury Department officials have been considering a program to lower mortgage rates, which would not apply to refinanced loans. Real estate agents and builders have been lobbying intensely in Washington for government efforts to spur home sales amid a severe decline in the U.S. housing market.

On Wednesday, the national average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.49 percent, down slightly from 5.54 percent on Tuesday, according to financial publisher HSH Associates.