Mortgage rates in the United States are rising again, ending — for the time being — a decline that had offered hope to homebuyers struggling to afford housing.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate in the United States rose to 6.11%, mortgage-financing giant Freddie Mac said Thursday, the second week in a row that rates have risen. The average had slipped below 6% for the first time in years in late February, raising confidence among buyers and sellers that the long-frozen market might finally begin to loosen.
Days later, the United States and Israel attacked Iran, setting off an energy crisis and raising new inflation concerns in financial markets. The result has been a jump in the yield on government bonds, and falling expectations for interest-rate cuts later this year. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which acts as a broad reference interest rate that underpins the U.S. mortgage market, climbed to 4.25% Thursday, up from below 4% before the war began.
Homebuyers have already been struggling with high prices, as well as rising insurance and property taxes. Mortgage rates were one source of relief, having fallen from much higher levels in recent years. Even at 6.11%, rates are well below their recent peak of 7.8% in October 2023, which was the highest level in decades. Back then the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was approaching 5%. But if the recent uptick continues, mortgage rates will add to a list of concerns that could keep homebuyers on the sidelines, said Hannah Jones, a senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.
“Spring feels very uncertain,” Jones said. “This definitely feels like we’re back where we were a year ago: tariff uncertainty, economic uncertainty, geopolitical uncertainty. All of this is making the path ahead seem really unclear.”