By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer
The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked up for the first time in five weeks after falling to its lowest level in more than a year last week.
The average long-term mortgage rate moved up to 6.22% from 6.17% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.79%.
Last week’s average rate the lowest since Oct. 3, 2024, when it was 6.12%.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week. The average rate rose to 5.5% from 5.41% last week. A year ago, it was 6%, Freddie Mac said.
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.
The 10-year yield was at 4.09% at midday Thursday, down from 4.16% Wednesday.
Lower mortgage rates boost homebuyers’ purchasing power and benefit homeowners eager to refinance their current home loan to a lower rate.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has been stuck above 6% since September 2022, the year mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows. The housing market has been in a slump ever since.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank last year to their lowest level in nearly three decades. Sales have been sluggish this year, but accelerated in September to their fastest pace since February as mortgage rates eased.
Mortgage rates began declining in July in the lead-up to the Federal Reserve’s decision in September to cut its main interest rate for the first time in a year amid growing concern over the U.S. labor market.
The Fed lowered its key interest rate again last week in a bid to help boost the wobbling job market. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that there is no guarantee the U.S. central bank will cut again at its final meeting of 2025 in December.
The Fed could also pump the brakes on more rate cuts if inflation climbs further amid the Trump administration’s expanding use of tariffs, because lower rates can worsen inflation.
Bond investors demand higher returns as long as inflation remains elevated, so if inflation ticks upward that could translate into higher yields on the 10-year Treasury note, pushing up mortgage rates.
The central bank doesn’t set mortgage rates, and even when it cuts its short-term rates that doesn’t necessarily mean rates on home loans will necessarily decline.
Last fall after the Fed cut its rate for the first time in more than four years, mortgage rates marched higher, eventually reaching just above 7% in January this year. At that time, the 10-year Treasury yield was climbing toward 5%.
The broader pullback in rates has helped spur homeowners who bought in recent years after rates climbed above 6% to refinance their home loan to a lower rate.
Mortgage rates would have to drop below 6% to make refinancing an attractive option for many homeowners. That’s because about 80% of U.S. homes with a mortgage have a rate below 6% and 53% have a rate below 4%, according to Realtor.com.
