Hit new low, again: The national average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell once again last week. The average rate quoted nationally was 4.69% for the week ending Sunday, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor. That’s down from 4.75% for the week ending Nov. 15. The rates for a 15-year mortgage were even lower, coming in at 4.23%, compared with 4.25% for the week ending Nov. 15. Zillow says rates continued to fall on Monday, though the volume of requests has dropped.
Fewer fliers: One-third of the people surveyed for the annual Zagat Airline Survey say they flew less in 2009. The survey, which is based on a poll of nearly 5,900 frequent fliers and travel professionals, found that the percentage of business flights was down from 64% in 2008 to 61% in 2009, while leisure travel increased from 35% to 39%. Continental was the top-rated large domestic premium class airline, while JetBlue was rated as the best large domestic economy class airline. Portland International was rated as the top airport, while LaGuardia finished last for the third year in a row.
