Mortgage rates remained mostly the same this week as the 30-year, fixed mortgage averaged at or below 4% for the fifth straight week, according to Freddie Mac‘s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year, fixed mortgage increased to 4% from 3.98% last week, and is down from the 4.46% average a year ago. The 15-year, FRM stayed at 3.3% from last week. Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages both declined slightly. The 5-year, hybrid ARM fell to 2.9% from 2.91% last week, and the 1-year ARM decreased to 2.78% from 2.79%. “The extraordinarily low mortgage rates of the past month may provide a needed spur to housing activity,” Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac, said in a release Thursday. “More optimistic consumers, lower house prices, and bargain mortgage rates may have contributed to the 10.4% jump in pending home sales in October to the strongest pace since November 2010 and may bode well for future home sales. Bankrate.com‘s mortgage rate survey, which came out Wednesday, said the 30-year, FRM increased to 4.25% from 4.27% last week. The 15-year, FRM rose 1 basis point to 3.48%, as did the 5-year ARM to 3.21%. Write to Andrew Scoggin. Follow him on Twitter @ascoggin.