Mortgage rates retreated from a two-year high this week, brought down by signs that the economy is cooling, as reported by Freddie Mac.

The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans fell to 6.72 percent for the week ending July 27 from 6.80 percent the week before.

A year ago, the 30-year mortgage rate averaged 5.77 percent.
Read more about the fall of mortgage rates…

Mortgage rates are headed into hibernation until the next Federal Reserve rate-setting meeting.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 12 basis points to 6.77 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. According to the latest survey, the mortgages had an average total of 0.28 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 5.84 percent; four weeks ago, it was 6.93 percent.

The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 10 basis points to 6.39 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 8 basis points to 6.47 percent.

Get the full story here…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Sales of new homes fell more than expected in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.131 million and the median home price fell for the second month in a row as the U.S. housing market showed more signs of cooling.

The 3% drop in new-home sales was the first decline since February, the Commerce Department said. Compared with a year earlier, new-home sales were down 11.1%.

Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting new-home sales to cool to a 1.160 million annual rate.

Get the full story here…

It's official - even the nation's leading group of real estate agents now says it's a buyer's market in housing, as a soaring supply of homes for sale means nearly flat prices and longer waits for sellers.

The news came in the National Association of Realtors' report for June, which showed that home sales fell to the slowest pace since January last month while price gains were the smallest in over a decade.

Get the full story here….

Home prices may start to fall in the coming months, according to the National Association of Realtors, following a report that showed sales of existing homes fell in June and the number of homes listed for sale soared to the highest level since 1997.

Condo prices are already being hit, falling 2.1% from June last year to a median price of $226,900. Single-family homes edged up 1.1% in June to $231,500.

But with an 8-month supply of condos for sale, and a 6.8-month supply of single-family homes, sellers are under pressure and buyers have plenty of options.