(Bloomberg) — US mortgage rates fell last week to their lowest level since April 2023, prompting potential homebuyers to apply for loans at a faster clip.

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The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell slightly to 6.43% in the week ended Aug. 30, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. That marked the fifth decline in as many weeks and spurred a pickup in the MBA’s index of home-purchase applications, which rose 3.3% to 136.1.

Mortgage rates have fallen recently on expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates at its next meeting in two weeks. Even so, borrowing costs — and home prices — are still high and have contributed to one of the least affordable housing markets on record.

The MBA’s overall index for mortgage applications, which tracks both home purchases and refinancing, rose 1.6% to 230.5.

The MBA survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990, uses responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The data cover more than 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the US.

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