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The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked down modestly this week, remaining in the same narrow range of the past two months. The average long-term mortgage rate fell to 6.18% from 6.21% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.85%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, rose this week. The rate averaged 5.50%, up from 5.47% last week. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation.

Owning a home is a benchmark of success and a way to amass wealth. But in California, with increasing home prices and mortgage interest rates above 6%, combined with rent control policies, it might make more financial sense to rent. For some, renting is necessary because they cannot afford to buy. Others may rent and put additional money into the stock market or other investments to build wealth. The advantages of buying a single-family home include extra space, a sense of security and likely better schools than might be available to people living in apartments. California's homeownership rate of 55% is second lowest in the nation and a full 10 percentage points below the national average.

A century-old program meant to provide native Hawaiians with a lease on property to build a house has 29,000 people on its waitlist, with nowhere near enough development underway to satisfy the demand. The state agency that administers the Hawaiian homelands project typically waits until housing developments are near completion before assigning lots and working with residents to obtain mortgages. But with people on the waitlist dying every year, the department now plans to issue 7,000 awards by the end of next year for projects in the earliest stages of development. That will allow owners to pass the lease down to family members, even if the housing is not built in their lifetime.