Mortgage rates a six-week streak of gains was finally snapped, but the drop won’t bring much relief as long-term rates fell just below 7%.
The latest survey of the primary mortgage market by Freddie Mac, published on Thursday, showed that the average rate of the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.96%, down from last week’s reading of 7.04%. The average rate for a 30-year loan was 6.69% a year ago.
“After breaking past the 7% mark last week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage saw its first decline in six weeks,” said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “While affordability challenges remain, this is good news for potential home buyers, as reflected in a corresponding increase in purchase applications.”
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The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.16% from 6.27% last week. A year ago, the 15-year fixed rate averaged 5.96%.