Average US rate on a 30-year mortgage dips to 6.64% for the second drop in 2 weeks

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. edged lower for the second week in a row, a modest but welcome boost for prospective home shoppers in the midst of the spring homebuying season. Mortgage rates are influenced by factors including bond market investors’ expectations for future inflation, global demand for U.S. Treasurys and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions. The overall decline this year in the average rate on a 30-year mortgage loosely follows moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. “This shock to the system will be felt in the housing market for the rest of the year.” Recent forecasts by housing economists generally called for the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to remain around 6.5% this year.