Mortgage rates in US inch down, sending 30-year loans to 6.74%

[WASHINGTON] Mortgage rates in the US fell for the first time in three weeks. 

The average for 30-year, fixed loans was 6.74 per cent, down from 6.75 per cent last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement. 

High home prices and mortgage rates hovering stubbornly close to 7 per cent are discouraging buyers from forging ahead on deals, even as the recent bump in listings has increased their negotiating power.

Purchases of resale homes dropped in June to the slowest pace in nine months, the National Association of Realtors reported this week. 

The Federal Reserve is largely expected to hold interest rates steady at its meeting next week.

Policymakers face “a lot of political pressure” to cut, said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com. “However, the persistent risk of tariff-driven inflation, combined with a rising US fiscal debt – expected to grow further following the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill – has helped establish a relatively high floor for interest rates, at least for now.” BLOOMBERG