The average US 30-year mortgage rate falls to 7.11% this week, its fourth straight decline

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell for the fourth straight week, offering more relief for prospective home shoppers at a time when many have put off buying a home due to elevated home loan borrowing costs and prices.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the U.S. declined to 7.11% from 7.18% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.24%.

The latest pullback brings the average rate to its lowest level since Sept. 24, when it was at 7.03%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also fell again this week. That average rate dipped to 6.45% from 6.57% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.49%.

Rates on home loans are influenced by inflation, Federal Reserve policy and bond-market investors’ expectations for the economy, among other factors. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Until the past few weeks, mortgage rates had been on the rise since late February, when the U.S. war with Iran began , pushing up the price of oil and driving inflation higher . The run-up in rates also reflected heightened bond market volatility, which led to rising yields on U.S. Treasurys.

However, the 10-year Treasury yield has been mostly trending lower since early October, after climbing to its highest level since 2002. That’s caused the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to come back down after reaching 7.4% early last month, its highest level in nearly three years.