WASHINGTON — The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked down modestly this week, remaining in the same narrow range of the past two months.
The average long-term mortgage rate fell to 6.18% from 6.21% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported.
One week earlier the rate averaged 6.85%.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, rose this week. The rate averaged 5.50%, up from 5.47% last week. A year ago it averaged 6%, Freddie Mac said.
The 10-year yield was at 4.15% at midday Wednesday, up modestly from last week’s 4.12%.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has been mostly holding steady in recent weeks since Oct. 30 when it dropped to 6.17%, its lowest level in more than a year.
Mortgage rates began easing in July in anticipation of a series of Fed rate cuts, which began in September and continued this month.
The Challenge
Still, affordability remains a challenge for many aspiring homeowners, especially first-time buyers who don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase. Uncertainty over the economy and job market are also keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in November from the previous month, but slowed compared to a year earlier for the first time since May despite average long-term mortgage rates holding near their low point for the year. Through the first 11 months of this year, home sales are down 0.5% compared to the same period last year.
Economists generally forecast that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage will remain slightly above 6% next year.
