Mr Cooper Group Inc (COOP)

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Money Watch -Mortgage rates tumbled on Friday to their lowest since April 2023 after a weak jobs report sent bond yields sharply lower and boosted Wall Street's expectations for an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve at its September meeting.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 0.22 percentage points to 6.4%, according to Mortgage News Daily. That's the lowest average rate for the most commonly held home loan since April 2023, according to data from Freddie Mac.

"The market is moving ahead of the Fed, bringing down longer-term rates including those for mortgages, which should lead to both more home purchases and a pickup in refinance activity," Mike Fratantoni, chief economist, with the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in a report.

On Friday morning, the Labor Department reported that hiring abruptly slowed in July, with employers adding far fewer jobs than economists had expected, while the unemployment rate jumped to its highest point since late 2021. The significant miss sent stocks tumbling as well as yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury, which mortgage rates closely follow.

The sharp decline in mortgage rates could offer some relief to house hunters, as many have been priced out of the market given the double whammy of high borrowing costs and home prices that reached a record in June. Mortgage rates could fall even lower in the coming weeks, said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a statement.

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