Home-mortgage rates fell to the lowest level of the year in recent days as Treasury yields slumped due to investors seeking a haven following last week's stock-market turmoil, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of mortgage rates.

Mortgage rates tend to follow Treasury yields. The benchmark 10-year note dropped to a five-month intraday low last Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered an intraday drop of nearly 1,000 points.

The latest week was the fifth in a row that interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages fell, noted Freddie Chief Economist Frank Nothaft.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.93% for the week ended Thursday, down from last week's 5% average but up from 4.86% a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.3%, compared with 4.36% and 4.27%, respectively.

If you think you missed the boat in taking advantage of low mortgage rates, there still seems to be time to buy real estate in Coeur d'Alene and lock in a low rate before they rise later this year.