The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell again last week, slipping close to its low point so far this year.

The decline brings the average long-term mortgage rate to 6.19 percent from 6.23 percent the previous week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.

A year ago, the rate averaged 6.69 percent.

It is the second straight weekly drop in the average rate after three straight increases. It’s now at the lowest level since Oct. 30, when it was at 6.17 percent, the lowest level in more than a year.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell. The rate averaged 5.44 percent, down from 5.51 percent the previous week. A year ago, it was 5.96 percent, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The 10-year yield was at 4.1 percent at midday Thursday. That’s up from about 4 percent a week earlier.

Realtors say declining mortgage rates boost homebuyers’ purchasing power.

Easing mortgage rates this fall helped lift sales of previously occupied homes in October on an annual basis for the fourth straight month.

Home sales in the Columbus area, for example, rose 9.5 percent in October, according to statistics from Columbus Realtors.

Home prices and the number of homes for sale also continued to increase.

The average price for a home sold in the Columbus region in October was $373,797, which was 3.3 percent higher than in October 2024.

Still, real estate analysts say affordability remains a challenge for many aspiring homeowners after years of skyrocketing prices.

Also, while the nation’s economic growth appears solid, hiring is sluggish and the unemployment rate has ticked up.

Mortgage rates began declining this summer ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision in September to cut its main interest rate for the first time in a year amid signs the labor market was slowing.

The Fed lowered its key interest rate again in October, and the general expectation is now that the central bank will cut its main interest rate when its policymakers meet again this week.

“A December rate cut, which the market widely expects, could take further pressure off of mortgage rates as the year comes to a close, boosting buying power as the new year approaches,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.

The Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, and even when it cuts its short-term rates that doesn’t necessarily mean rates on home loans will necessarily decline.

Last fall after the Fed cut its rate for the first time in more than four years, mortgage rates marched higher, eventually reaching just above 7 percent in January this year. At that time, the 10-year Treasury yield was climbing toward 5 percent.

Economists at Realtor.com, Zillow and Bright MLS generally forecast that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage will remain slightly above 6 percent next year.