Overview
- Freddie Mac says the 30-year fixed averaged 5.98% for the week of Feb. 26, the first sub-6% level since September 2022.
- The average 15-year fixed rate edged up to about 5.44% this week, according to Freddie Mac.
- Economists link the dip to a drop in the 10-year Treasury yield following a Supreme Court ruling on emergency tariffs and subsequent tariff actions that sent investors toward safer bonds.
- Federal Reserve minutes noted the administration’s directive for $200 billion in mortgage-bond purchases helped pull mortgage-backed securities yields lower, though analysts doubt this alone will deliver major affordability gains.
- Lower rates are lifting buying power—Zillow estimates a median-income household can afford about $331,483, roughly $30,000 more than a year ago—yet rate lock and lean inventory remain the main constraints on sales.