U.S. existing home sales rose for the first time in five months in July, and Freddie Mac's interest rate fell to 6.46%

Freddie Mac said the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.46%, down from 6.49% last week, according to BlockBeats. Lower borrowing costs boost homebuyers’ purchasing power.

The National Association of Realtors reported that U.S. existing home sales rose for the first time in five months in July, up 1.3% from the previous month, but it was still the slowest July growth rate since 2010.

Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said that current interest rates, hovering just below 6.5%, are not enough to motivate potential homebuyers, and he expects that interest rates will need to fall another percentage point to drive buyer demand.