Mortgage rates

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage is lingering just shy of 6.5% level, which is not low enough to bring home purchasers back into the market, observers said.

Nearly two-thirds of consumers in a July survey said they expect mortgage rates to decline soon, but most want to see them cross a very specific threshold before they act, Mphasis Digital Risk found.

Market turmoil is driving the 10-year Treasury yield downward and taking mortgage rates with it, putting more borrowers in the money to refinance, Intercontinental Exchange said.

But following the gross domestic product and personal consumption expenditures reports, Treasury yields and mortgage rates fell.

The resilience of the equity market has been underpinned by optimism the economy has withstood the worst of Fed tightening.

But economists seem to differ on what the latest movement in mortgage rates means for the summer home sales business.

The decline for the third consecutive week reflects investors' belief that the Federal Open Market Committee is likely to cut rates this year.

Markets appeared to welcome signs of future rate relief, with the latest Freddie Mac average falling for the fifth time in six weeks.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average dropped back below the 7% level as investors reacted positively to news the economy is slowing, Freddie Mac said.

Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury also rose in the past week as bond and note auctions got tepid responses from investors.