2. Weekly HAR Market Stat Mortgage rates flirted with an eight-month low of 4.4 percent on a 30-year fixed. Along with a slow summer and fall of 2010, that has motivated more buyers to enter contracts than at this time last year even though current homeowners listed fewer properties than last year. Affordable prices and strong negotiating leverage should continue to create a favorable purchase environment. In the Houston region, for the week ending August 14: • New Listings decreased 8.0% to 2,051 • Pending Sales increased 31.7% to 1,376 • Closed Sales increased 6.3% to 981