Rates on 30-year mortgages remained the same last week but other rates posted declines.

According to the latest report, Freddie Mac reported that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.88%, similar to its rate the past three weeks.

The 30-year rate, which had been at 5.85% during the last week of March, increased slightly to 5.88% the following and has stayed at that level, staying under 6% for five straight weeks.

However, other rates showed declines, a trend that many attributed to rising hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again by the end of this month in response to the growing housing crisis.

Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac said that housing starts for March were the lowest since March 1991 and consumer sentiment in April fell to its lowest in 26 years. Meanwhile, home builder confidence remains near record lows, he said.

He said these are just a few of crucial statistics that suggest the economy might be nearing in a recession are prompting investors to expect a further rate cut when Fed officials next meet on April 29-30.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, dipped to 5.40%. The previous week, the rate was 5.42%. These mortgages are favorite options for those who plan to refinance.

Meanwhile, five-year ARMs dropped from 5.56% to 5.48%, while rates on one-year ARMs fell to 5.10%, compared to 5.18% a week earlier.

The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. For 30-year mortgages, the nationwide average fee was 0.4 points while the average fee was 0.5 points for 15-year mortgages. On the other hand, the average fee was 0.6s point for five-year ARMs and one-year ARMs.

A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages stood at 6.17%, 15-year mortgage rates averaged 5.89%, five-year ARMs were 5.92% and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages were at 5.45%.

Many economists believe the country has fallen into a recession, an event that has not happened since 2001.

Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey says the number of people filing home loan applications edged higher last week; refinance volume up 5.2%.

Meanwhile, mortgage application volume increased by 2.5% during the week ending April 11, the latest available report, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The mortgage application index from the MBA rose to 743.4 from 725.6 the previous week.

Refinance volume increased 5.2% during the week, while purchase volume fell 0.8%. Refinance applications accounted for 53.5% of total mortgage applications.

During the height of the housing boom, the index peaked at 1,856.7 during the week that ended on 30th May 2003.

An index value of 100 is equal to the application volume on March 16, 1990, the first week the MBA tracked application volume. A reading of 743.4 means mortgage application activity is 7.434 times higher than it was when the MBA began tracking the data.

The survey provides an overview of lending activity among mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts, covering about 50% of all residential retail mortgage originations each week.