Average 30-year mortgage rate dips to 4.12%

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average rates on fixed mortgages fell this week for a fifth straight week. The spring home-buying season has started slowly, but it may be aided by the low rates.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for a 30-year loan edged down to 4.12% from 4.14% last week. The average for the 15-year mortgage declined to 3.21% from 3.25%.

Warmer weather has yet to boost home-buying as it normally does. Rising prices and higher interest rates beginning in mid-2013 have made homes less affordable for would-be buyers. At the same time, a limited supply of homes is available to buy.

Mortgage rates still are nearly a full percentage point above record lows reached about a year ago.

In a separate report, more Americans signed contracts to purchase homes in April than the prior month. But the pace of buying is still weaker than last year, as higher prices and tight supplies have limited sales.

The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 0.4% to 97.8 last month. The index remains 9.2% below its level a year ago.

Pending sales are a barometer of future purchases. A one- to two-month lag usually exists between a signed contract and a completed sale.

The gain in signed contracts partly reflects the decline in mortgage rates and the economic rebound from the brutal winter. The number of signed contracts increased in the Northeast and Midwest month-to-month, more than offsetting declines in the West and South.