The Federal Reserve's plan to buy half a trillion dollars of mortgage-backed securities by June 2009 boosted the mortgage-bond market Wednesday, and more gains are expected in this market for securities guaranteed by the congressionally chartered housing-finance companies Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

That is good news for homeowners, as higher mortgage-bond prices and lower yields translate into lower mortgage rates for borrowers.

Already, since the initial announcement of the plan in late November, 30-year fixed mortgage rates have fallen from above 6% and are hovering just above 5%. Freddie Mac's weekly survey showed the rate averaged 5.10% ...

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