Mortgage Rates Tick Up for Second Week

WASHINGTON — The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked up for the second straight week following a string of declines that had brought down home borrowing costs to their lowest level in nearly a year.

The average long-term mortgage rate rose this week to 6.34% from 6.3% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.12%.

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. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The 10-year yield was at 4.10% at midday Thursday, down from 4.19% the same time last week.

Much of that decline has come in the past few days, driven by discouraging reports on the U.S. economy, particularly the job market.

In late July, mortgage rates started declining in the lead-up to the Federal Reserve’s widely anticipated decision last month to cut its main interest rate for the first time in a year amid growing concern over the U.S. job market. The Fed’s rate cut doesn’t necessarily mean mortgage rates will keep declining, even as the central bank signals more cuts ahead.

Still, the late-summer decline in mortgage rates has already encouraged many homeowners who bought in recent years after rates climbed well above 6% to refinance to a lower rate.

Economists generally forecast the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to remain near the mid-6% range this year.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also inched up this week. The average rate rose to 5.55% from 5.49% the previous week. A year ago, it was 5.25%, Freddie Mac said.

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