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   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   MCLEAN, Va. -- The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage fell this   
   week to its lowest level in nearly 10 months, giving prospective   
   homebuyers a sorely needed boost in purchasing power that could help   
   inject life into a stagnant housing market.   
      
   The long-term rate fell to 6.58% from 6.63% last week, mortgage buyer   
   Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.49%.   
      
   Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners   
   refinancing their home loans, also fell. The average rate dropped to   
   5.71% from 5.75% last week. A year ago, it was 5.66%, Freddie Mac said.   
      
   Elevated mortgage rates have helped keep the U.S. housing market in a   
   sales slump since early 2022, when rates started to climb from the   
   rock-bottom lows they reached during the pandemic. Home sales sank last   
   year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.   
      
   This is the fourth week in a row that rates have come down. The latest   
   average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now at its lowest level since Oct.   
   24, when it averaged 6.54%.   
      
   Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal   
   Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’   
   expectations for the economy and inflation.   
      
   The main barometer is the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a   
   guide to pricing home loans. The yield was at 4.29% at midday Thursday,   
   up slightly from 4.24% late Wednesday.   
      
   The yield has come down the last couple of weeks after   
   weaker-than-expected July U.S. job market data fueled speculation that   
   the Fed will cut its main short-term interest rate next month.   
      
   A Fed rate cut could give the job market and overall economy a boost,   
   but it could also fuel inflation just as President Trump’s tariff   
   policies risk raising prices for U.S. consumers.   
      
   Higher inflation could push bond yields higher, driving mortgage rates   
   upward in turn, even if the Fed cuts its key rate.   
      
   Economists generally expect the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to   
   remain above 6% this year. Recent forecasts by Realtor.com and Fannie   
   Mae project the average rate will ease to around 6.4% by the end of this   
   year.   
      
   “Homebuyers who have been relegated to the sidelines by high financing   
   costs got some encouragement in the past two weeks, but it remains to be   
   seen if it’s enough to get more of them back in the game,” said Joel   
   Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com.   
      
   Mortgage applications jumped 10.9% last week from the previous week as   
   rates eased, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.   
      
   But much of the increase was due to homeowners applying for loans to   
   refinance their mortgage. Such loan applications made up nearly 47% of   
   all applications and led to a 23% surge in overall in refi applications   
   compared to a week earlier -- the strongest week for refinance   
   applications since April.   
      
   Meanwhile, applications for adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, soared   
   25% to their highest level since 2022, MBA said.   
      
   https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/average-rate-30-year-mortgage-d   
   rops-lowest-level-124650949   
      
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