The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 6.76% from 6.85% last week, Freddie Mac said. Rates on 15-year mortgages fell to 5.94% from 6.04%.

WASHINGTON — The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. eased for the sixth week in a row, a welcome boost in purchasing power for home shoppers just as the annual spring homebuying season gets going.

The average rate fell 6.76% from 6.85% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, it averaged 6.94%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, also eased this week. The average rate fell to 5.94% from 6.04% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.26%, Freddie Mac said.

The steady decline in mortgage rates this year hasn’t been enough to change the affordability equation for many prospective home shoppers, especially first-time buyers who don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in January as rising mortgage rates and prices froze out many would-be homebuyers despite a wider selection of properties on the market.

New data on pending home sales, a bellwether for future completed sales, point to potentially further sales declines in coming months. They slid to an all-time low in January.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now at its lowest level since Dec. 19, when it was also 6.72%. It briefly fell to a 2-year low last September but has been mostly hovering around 7% this year. That’s more than double the 2.65% record low the average rate hit a little over four years ago.

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