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U.S. mortgage rates declined for a second straight week, hitting a two-month low while mortgage applications increased 2.2 percent for the week ending Nov. 18 from a week earlier, according to an industry association, reflecting a slight improvement in the constrained housing market.
"The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell for the second week in a row to 6.67 percent and is now down almost 50 basis points from the recent peak of 7.16 percent one month ago," said Joel Kan, MBA's Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.
"The decrease in mortgage rates should improve the purchasing power of prospective homebuyers, who have been largely sidelined as mortgage rates have more than doubled in the past year. As a result of the drop in mortgage rates, both purchase and refinance applications picked up slightly last week. However, refinance activity is still more than 80 percent below last year's pace."...