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The
benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.69%,
mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday, up slightly from 6.66%
reported last week. By comparison, the average rate was 6.63% at
this time last year — and hadn't been higher than its current
level since late July in 2025.
Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in
costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power. As
rates rise, that can lead prospective home shoppers to delay
buying a home, one reason U.S. home sales have been sluggish
this year.
Meanwhile, borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages —
which are often sought by borrowers looking to refinance a home
loan — fell slightly this week. That rate averaged at 6.01%,
down from 6.04% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.75%, Freddie
Mac said.
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including
inflation, broader policy rate decisions from the Federal
Reserve and expectations from bond market investors for the
economy. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year
Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home
loans.
Rates have been mostly rising this year as the U.S. war with
Iran, which has fueled expectations for hotter inflation as
crude oil prices soared. Despite easing oil prices recently,
long-term bond yields remain steeper than they were before the
conflict began in late February, pushing mortgage rates to tread
higher.
The 10-year Treasury yield was 4.65% as of midday Thursday on
the bond market. Before the war, it was just 3.97% in late
February.
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