By Prashant Gopal | Bloomberg

Mortgage rates in the US fell for the first time in six weeks, while sticking close to a two-decade high.

The average for a 30-year, fixed loan slipped to 7.18%, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. Last week, rates hit 7.23%, the highest level since May 2001.

See more: Southern California home prices near record high despite sales plunge

It’s just a slight break for house hunters struggling to afford a purchase in a market that’s starved of listings. With few existing owners willing to sell and give up low-rate loans they’d secured in recent years, buyer competition is pushing up prices for the limited options that are available.

In one potential bright spot, the number of newly listed homes in the US climbed 3.5% in August from July, according to a report by Realtor.com that called the increase “seasonally unusual.”

While inventory continues to be in short supply, the uptick is “hopefully signaling a return in seller activity heading toward the fall season, which typically is the best time to buy a home,” Chief Economist Danielle Hale and Economic Data Manager Sabrina Speianu said in the report.

Many economists expect borrowing costs to ease by the end of the year, but the path may be uncertain for the short term.

A gauge of consumer prices closely watched by the Federal Reserve rose only modestly last month, but spending increased. That suggests that while the central bank’s monetary tightening campaign has made significant progress in taming inflation, pressures remain, leaving the door open to the possibility of further interest-rate hikes.

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