U.S. mortgage rates were little changed for the week ended Thursday, keeping borrowing costs close to the lowest level on record as demand for home loans slumps.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan declined to 4.11 percent from 4.12 percent, Freddie Mac said. The average 15-year rate increased to 3.38 percent from 3.37 percent. The longer-term lending rate fell to 3.94 percent two weeks ago, the lowest level in Freddie Mac records dating back to 1971.

Americans remain cautious about buying homes as property values decline, lenders tighten credit and the jobless rate remains above 9 percent.

“If you look at mortgage applications, the low interest rates have done nothing to stimulate housing,” said Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight. “The single-family home market is stuck at the bottom.”

Sales of previously owned homes fell 3 percent to a 4.91 million annual rate in September, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed. The median price declined 3.5 percent from a year earlier. Transactions involving financially distressed properties – comprising foreclosures and short sales, where the price is less than the loan balance – accounted for 30 percent of the total.

Builders began work on more U.S. homes than forecast in September, largely because of a surge in construction of apartments and other multifamily dwellings, according to Commerce Department data. Single-family housing starts climbed 1.7 percent from the previous month while work on multifamily homes surged 51 percent.

The Standard & Poor’s 1500 Homebuilding Index rose the most in two years on Tuesday after a measure of developer sentiment unexpectedly increased to its highest level since May 2010.

This article appeared on page D – 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle