According to Jinshi Data, U.S. mortgage rates fell last week to their lowest level since April 2023, stimulating a slight rebound in home purchase applications. Data showed that the contract rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell for the fourth consecutive week to 6.44%, the longest decline so far this year.

Mortgage rates move in sync with Treasury yields and have fallen recently in anticipation of the Federal Reserve starting to cut interest rates in September. Minutes of the Fed’s July meeting released last week showed “several” officials saw a case for a rate cut at the time, and Powell said the time had come to adjust policy.