Mortgage rates were relatively the same as they were the week before, following the results of Freddie Mac’s mortgage survey for the week ended last Thursday, September 13. As they have for the past few months, the rates remained quite close to historical low levels as the housing market and U.S. economy both make slow, yet steady recoveries.

The popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained steady at 3.55 percent, which is still very close to the all-time historical low of 3.49 percent from two months ago. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, which is also favored by a lot of borrowers, decreased very slightly from last week, moving down from 2.86 percent to 2.85 percent.

This is also quite close to the 2.80 percent historical low from July 2012.

The affordable mortgage rates have been a boon to the U.S. real estate market, and have helped drive increased sales for all types of homes. Increased builder confidence and demand for houses are two other encouraging signs that have resulted from these low mortgage rates.

Though the housing market has improved from the doldrums of a few years back, current levels of activity still aren’t high enough to be considered healthy. Despite an improvement in home sales, the number of new and previously occupied homes are both well below what could be considered as healthy.

And only a few individuals can qualify for the low rates mentioned above; many of those who can qualify have already refinanced their property in recent months.