Average long-term US mortgage rate declines to levels last seen in early February

abcnews.go.com:

Home loan borrowing costs fell for the second week in a row, pulling the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its lowest level since early February — good news for prospective home shoppers as the spring homebuying season gets underway

LOS ANGELES — Home loan borrowing costs fell for the second week in a row, pulling the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its lowest level since early February — good news for prospective home shoppers as the spring homebuying season gets underway.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped to 6.74% from 6.88% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.60%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell this week, pulling the average rate down to 6.16% from 6.22% last week. A year ago it averaged 5.90%, Freddie Mac said.

“Despite the recent dip, mortgage rates remain high as the market contends with the pressure of sticky inflation," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. «In this environment, there is a good possibility that rates will stay higher for a longer period of time.”

The recent pullback in rates follows a string of rate increases. Mortgage rates rose for most of February as stronger-than-expected reports on inflation and the economy fueled speculation among bond investors that the Federal Reserve would have to hold off on cutting interest rates longer than expected.

The Fed has signaled that it will likely cut its key interest rate this year, once it sees more evidence that inflation is falling sustainably back to its 2% target. The Fed’s main interest rate is at its highest level since 2001.

Investors’ expectations for future inflation, global