Overview
- Freddie Mac said Thursday the 30-year fixed rose to 6.30% from 6.23% last week, ending a three-week decline, while the 15-year averaged 5.64%.
- The increase tracked a jump in the 10-year Treasury yield after the Federal Reserve kept its policy rate unchanged, and mortgage pricing often follows that benchmark.
- Economists linked the higher Treasury yields to renewed U.S.–Iran tensions that lifted oil prices and stoked inflation worries, which fed through to home loan rates.
- Purchase demand held up, with mortgage applications for home buys running more than 20% above a year ago even as many buyers move carefully through a subdued spring market.
- Rates remain lower than the 6.76% average a year ago, and forecasters expect the low 6% range and continued swings to shape borrowing costs in the near term.