Freddie Mac says that the benchmark 30-year mortgage plunged to 4.96 percent in the week ending January 15. That is the lowest level ever since the beginning of the mortgage agency's weekly rate survey in 1971. A year back, it averaged 5.69percent.

Mortgage lenders are busy with queries as interest rates on home loans drop nearly 1.5 percentage points in the last two months. The dive resulted from the recent cuts in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, as a part of its commitment to acquire huge blocks of mortgage-backed securities during the first half of this year.

Existing and potential homeowners are snapping up the opportunity that will bring savings, or a chance to pay off homes faster. As such there is a rush of applications from homeowners who are excited to refinance. The Mortgage Bankers Association says, since November, there has been a more than fivefold jump in the index that calculates applications for refinance mortgages countrywide.

To view information on recently listed homes in the greater Charlotte NC area and see what you could buy with these historically low interest on mortgages, go to SECharlotteHomeSearch.com.