Average 30-year mortgage rate slips to 4.14 percent

WASHINGTON – Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week for a second straight week, slipping further from their highest levels of the year reached two weeks ago.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the rate on 30-year fixed-rate home loans declined to 4.14 percent from 4.23 percent last week. The benchmark rate stood at 3.71 percent a year ago and averaged 3.65 percent in 2016, the lowest level in records dating to 1971.

The rate on 15-year mortgages eased to 3.39 percent from 3.44 percent.