Fixed mortgage rates remained steady and near all-time lows this week, which should help the ongoing housing recovery going into 2013, Freddie Mac reported Jan. 3 in its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

The 30-year fixed rate decreased 0.01 percentage point this week to 3.34 percent (down from 3.91 percent a year ago). The 15-year fixed rate also fell by 0.01 percent to 2.64 percent (down from 3.23 percent a year ago).

The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage rose 0.01 percent to 2.57 percent (down from 2.80 percent a year ago). The five-year Treasury-indexed adjustable rate also increased 0.01 percentage point to 2.71 percent (down from 2.86 percent a year ago).

“New home sales rose in November to a two-year high and were up 15.3 percent from the previous November,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a news release. “Similarly, pending sales on existing homes increased for the third month in November to the strongest pace since April 2010.”

View Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.