Mortgage rates hit 50-year lows and it likely won't matter

The good news: Mortgage rates dropped to their lowest levels in more than 50 years.

The bad news: You need to have a job and impeccable credit to get them.

The average 30-year fixed loan rate tumbled to 4.69% this week, down from 4.75% last week, Freddie Mac reported. These are the lowest rates since the mortgage giant began keeping records in 1971 and the last time rates were lower was in the 1950s.

Nobody expects the falling rates to matter much. They aren't likely to snap the housing market back to life. And they aren't likely to benefit anyone who is unemployed, underemployed or who has had their credit rating dinged in the recession.