The rate fell to 7.09% from 7.22% last week, mortgage buyer
The modest pullback followed a five-week string of increases that pushed the average rate to its highest level since
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also declined this week, pulling down the average rate to 6.38% from 6.47% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.75%,
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including how the bond market reacts to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy and the moves in the 10-year
Still, the Fed has maintained it doesn’t plan to cut interest rates until it has greater confidence that price increases are slowing sustainably to its 2% target.
Until then, mortgage rates are unlikely to ease significantly, economists say.
After climbing to a 23-year high of 7.79% in October, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage stayed below 7% this year until last month. Even with the modest decline this week, it's well above where it was just two years ago at 5.3%.
The recent upward push in rates has been an unwelcome development for prospective homebuyers in the midst of what's traditionally the busiest time of the year for home sales. On average, more than one-third of all homes sold in a given year are purchased between March and June.
Sales of previously occupied
“An environment where rates continue to hover above 7% impacts both sellers and buyers,” said
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