Mortgage rates decline for first time in five weeks

WASHINGTON — Rates on 30-year mortgages declined this week for the first time in five weeks amid expectations that the Federal Reserve won’t push interest rates much higher.

Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages slipped to a nationwide average of 6.74 percent this week from 6.79 percent last week.

Housing sales, which have set records for five straight years, are expected to decline by around 7 percent this year as higher mortgage rates make home ownership more expensive.

Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, expects only a gradual rise in mortgage rates this year so long as the Federal Reserve does not become overly worried about inflation.

The financial market’s expectation of only one additional interest-rate hike by the Fed this year has helped soften the upward pressure on long-term rates, according to Nothaft.

“This should keep mortgage rates relatively stable for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Rates also declined for other types of mortgages this week, according to the Freddie Mac survey. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, fell to an average 6.37 percent from 6.44 percent last week.