Adjustable-rate mortgages continued to fall out of favor. Freddie Mac (OTC BB FMCC) said less than 5 percent of borrowers refinanced loans to an adjustable rate mortgage, regardless of whether their previous mortgage was a fixed or adjustable-rate loan.

Among borrowers who refinanced a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, 32 percent chose to replace it with a 15- or 20-year loan, the largest number of refinanced mortgages to shift to shorter payoff terms since the first quarter of 2004. Of those who refinanced a 20-year mortgage, 70 percent chose a 15-year mortgage to replace it, the highest since Freddie Mac began keeping track.

A 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to an average of 4.17 percent during the early weeks of the fourth quarter, while 15-year mortgages stayed at or below 4 percent. Rates have since risen, with Freddie Mac’s most recent report putting the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 5.05 percent.

Single-family home sales were down 5 percent locally in 2010, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.