The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell for the fourth time in as many weeks, more positive news for prospective homebuyers who have been held back by sharply higher borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.

The latest decline brought the average rate on a 30-year mortgage down to 7.29% from 7.44% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.58%.

Despite the recent pullback, the average rate on a 30-year home loan is still sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was around 3%. Higher rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already out of reach for many Americans.

The elevated mortgage rates and a near-historic-low supply of homes on the market have stymied sales of previously occupied U.S. homes, which slumped in October to their slowest pace in more than 13 years and have now fallen 20.2% through the first 10 months of the year versus the same period in 2022.

A new CEO is coming to the farmer-owned cooperative Wilco in early 2024.

John Bowersox will take over the position following the retirement of Sam Bugarsky on Jan. 20.

“We interviewed numerous qualified candidates for the CEO position and John’s experience in a cooperative system and his experience in the rural lifestyle retail business, along with his desire to be back in the Pacific Northwest, weighed in his favor,” said Ben Coleman, Wilco board chairman.

Based in Mt. Angel, Wilco represents about 3,000 farmer-members in the Willamette Valley and parts of Washington and California. The co-op is best known for its farm retail stores, with 25 locations in Oregon, Washington and California. It also operates divisions in fuels, agronomy and hazelnuts, having merged with Hazelnut Growers of Oregon in 2016.

Last year saw a record $373 million in sales for Wilco, which translated into the second-highest net earnings for members after inflation.

Bowersox comes to Wilco from Appleton, Wisconsin, where he has worked as the chief supply chain officer and senior vice president of information technology and e-commerce at Fleet Farm, a Midwestern lifestyle retailer with 50 stores in five states.

Prior to Fleet Farm, Bowersox spent nearly four years as a supply chain executive with True Value, a hardware wholesaler based in Chicago, and 10 years with Kohler Co. where he worked in both the Ann Sacks Tile & Stone division in Portland and the Kitchen & Bath division in Kohler, Wisconsin.

In a statement, Bowersox said he is “humbled, honored and extremely excited” to join Wilco.