The latest decline brought the average rate on a 30-year mortgage down to 7.22% from 7.29% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.49%. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now at the lowest level it’s been in 10 weeks, when it was 7.19%.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes are down 20.2% through the first 10 months of the year versus the same period in 2022.

Mortgage rates fell for a fifth straight week, bringing them to the lowest level in more than two months. The average rate on the standard 30-year fixed mortgage declined to 7.22%, according to a survey of lenders released Thursday by mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac.