Overview
- Freddie Mac’s weekly survey Thursday put the 30-year fixed at 6.37% after a two-week ceasefire was announced, the first drop since late February.
- Mortgage costs often follow the 10-year Treasury yield, which eased on the news, but housing economists warned the pullback may be brief without a durable peace or cooling inflation.
- UK data show demand weakening in March, with RICS reporting buyer enquiries at a net minus 39% and agreed sales at minus 34% as lenders removed many low-rate deals and product choice shrank.
- The Bank of England’s Credit Conditions Survey, conducted before the conflict fully intensified, pointed to higher mortgage availability into late May even as Q1 defaults rose to 6.2% on secured loans and 18.6% on unsecured debt.
- For households, today’s rate versus late February’s 5.98% adds roughly $1,200 a year on a typical $400,000 mortgage and about $36,000 over 30 years on a $500,000 loan, which helps explain slower buyer activity and greater lender caution.