The decline pushed 30-year rates down to the lowest point since they averaged 6.13 percent the week of Dec. 21. Other rates dropped as well.

Nothaft said he believed the economy would strengthen as the year moves forward and this would leave 30-year mortgages moving in a narrow range of between 6.3 percent and 6.4 percent.

The Freddie Mac survey showed that other types of mortgage rates hit their lowest points for the year as well.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, fell to 5.86 percent, down from 5.92 percent last week.

Five-year adjustable rate mortgages edged down to 5.90 percent, compared to 5.93 percent last week.

One-year ARMs dipped to 5.47 percent, down from 5.49 percent last week.

The mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Thirty-year mortgages, 15-year and five-year mortgages all carried a nationwide average fee of 0.5 point while one-year mortgages carried an average fee of 0.6 point.

A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages stood at 6.37 percent while 15-year mortgages were at 6.00 percent, five-year adjustable rate mortgages averaged 6.03 percent and one-year ARMs were at 5.45 percent.