Average rate on 30-year mortgage dips to 4.95 pct.

NEW YORK (AP) — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell below 5 percent this week, as investors sought more Treasury notes amid growing tension in the Middle East.

Freddie Mac says the average rate on the 30-year loan slipped to 4.95 percent from 5 percent. It hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed home loan fell to 4.22 percent from 4.27 percent. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.

Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. It fell this week as investors shifted money out of stocks and into safer assets amid escalating violence in Libya.