Mortgage rates continued their descent in the week ending September 20, according to Freddie Mac, as they returned to record lows.

The government-sponsored enterprise's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.49 percent, down from 3.55 percent in the previous week. A year ago, 30-year FRMs averaged 4.09 percent.

Meanwhile, the average for 15-year FRMs dropped from 2.85 percent to 2.77 percent, after averaging 3.29 percent during the same period last year.

"Following the Federal Reserve's announcement of a new bond purchase plan, yields on mortgage-backed securities fell bringing average fixed mortgage rates to their all-time record lows which should aid in the ongoing housing recovery," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac.

Record-low mortgage rates for much of 2012 have made home buying more affordable than ever, which has certainly added the recovery of the real estate market.

Patrick Newport, U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight, told Bloomberg that the market should continue to improve in the next several years unless the country enters another recession.