Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) — Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed U.S. home loans fell for the first time in a month this week as the Federal Reserve pledged to keep its benchmark rate near zero.

The average 30-year mortgage rate declined to 4.98 percent from 5.03 percent. The 15-year rate was 4.40 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac of McLean, Virginia, said today in a statement.

“There will come a point at which the Fed will have to take action that will likely cause mortgage rates to increase, but now is not the time,” said Donald Rissmiller, chief economist at New York-based Strategas Research Partners LLC. “There’s little need to abandon what’s basically been a pretty successful housing policy since March.”

The Federal Reserve set out last year to encourage lower mortgage rates by pledging to buy bonds backed by home loans. It increased the size of the program to $1.25 trillion in March.

The bond purchases from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae brought down yields on mortgage-backed securities and allowed lenders to reduce rates on new loans while still selling the securities backed by them at a profit. The plan helped drive mortgage rates to a record low of 4.78 percent twice in April.

The central bank’s purchasing program is scheduled to end in the first quarter of next year, the Federal Open Market Committee said on Sept. 23. It reiterated those plans yesterday.

The Fed yesterday kept its benchmark overnight lending rate at between zero and 0.25 percent, where it has been since December.

The Senate voted yesterday to extend an $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers that had been scheduled to expire at the end of the month.

Homebuilders credit the program with boosting sales. The Senate legislation expanded the credit from first-time buyers to some who already own homes and raised income limits for the program. The U.S. House may vote on the measure as soon as today.

By Brian Louis

The U.S. House of Representatives today voted 403 to 12 to extend and expand the home buyer tax credit. The bill passed the U.S. Senate late yesterday and now will go to President Obama for his signature, where it is expected to be signed this week.

The tax credit will be extended through April 30, 2010, with a 60-day extension if a binding contract is in place prior to the deadline. First-time home buyers will continue to receive a tax credit of up to $8,000, while existing homeowners will receive a credit of up to $6,500. Existing homeowners will be eligible for the $6,500 if they have lived in their current residences for at least five years. The bill also will increase the qualifying income limits from $75,000 for single tax filers and $150,000 for joint filers to $125,000 and $225,000, respectively. The purchase price of the home is capped at $800,000.

Under additional provisions in the bill, taxpayers can claim the credit on purchases completed in 2010 on their 2009 income tax returns. The bill maintains the provision that home buyers do not have to repay the credit, provided the home remains their primary residence for 36 months after purchase, and waives this requirement for active duty military personnel who move due to a military order.

For weeks, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R and its members have urged Congress and the U.S. Senate to extend and expand this crucial piece of legislation.

Nationwide, more than 1.4 million first-time home buyers were given the opportunity to become homeowners as a result of the Federal Tax Credit for First-time Home Buyers. According to C.A.R. research, nearly 40 percent of first-time home buyers surveyed said they would not have purchased a home without the federal tax credit, and approximately 70 percent said the tax credit was “the most important” or a “very important” factor in their decision to buy a home.