Amid stabilization within the housing market, Freddie Mac reported Thursday that mortgage rates continued to inch down this week, hovering near record lows.

“Mortgage rates eased for the second week, while economic data releases suggest that the housing market may be in a slow state of recovery,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac VP and chief economist.

For the week ending February 18, 2010, the average rate for 30-year fixed mortgages dropped to 4.93 percent with an average 0.7 point, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found. This week’s average marked a 0.04 percent decline from last week and a year-over-year reduction of 0.11 percent.

In addition, Freddie Mac reported a dip in the average rate for 15-year fixed mortgages. Coming in at 4.33 percent with an average 0.6 point, rates for 15-year fixed mortgages fell 0.01 percent from week-to-week and decreased 0.35 percent from the same week in 2009.

According to the PMMS, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) also followed the overall trend of declining rates. The 5-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.12 percent with an average 0.5 point this week, down 0.07 percent from last week and 0.92 percent year-over-year. The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.23 percent with an average 0.6 point, marking a 0.1 percent drop from week-to-week and a 0.57 percent decline from last year at this time.