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Mortgage Rates Continue to Fall Raising Hopes of the Fed Cutting Rates. ABC reports that borrowing costs for home loans continued to ease this week, with the average rate on a 30-year mortgage falling to its lowest level since April. According to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the rate fell from 6.95% to 6.87% last week. That figure is still significantly higher than what the rate was during the same time last year, which was at an average of 6.67%. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages also eased, falling from 6.17% last week to 6.13%. During the same time last year, the average rate was at 6.03%. Those higher rates can add hundreds of dollars to monthly costs for borrowers, which limits the purchasing options of potential homebuyers. "Mortgage rates fell for the third straight week following signs of cooling inflation and market expectations of a future Fed rate cut.", Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, via ABC. ABC reports that rates are influenced by a number of factors, including the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy and the 10-year Treasury yield. Due to yields also beginning to ease, the Federal Reserve could start to drop its main interest rate after hiking it up to the highest level in over 20 years. Last week, Fed officials suggested that they would make just one cut to their benchmark interest rate in 2024, down from previous projections of three cuts for the year. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT