Global Tensions Lift Mortgage Rates
The average 30-year mortgage rate rose to 6.11% and the 15-year to 5.5% on market volatility pushing borrowing costs higher as the spring homebuying season begins.
WASHINGTON – The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose again this week, reflecting ongoing bond market jitters over the war with Iran.
The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate ticked up to 6.11% from 6% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.65%.
The average rate is now back to where it was five weeks ago. Just two weeks ago, it touched its lowest level in three and a half years. It has been hovering around 6% this year, an encouraging backdrop for prospective home shoppers who can afford to buy at current rates just as the spring homebuying season gets rolling.
Meanwhile, borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week. That average rate rose to 5.5% from 5.43% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.8%, 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 Treasury yield was at 4.24% at midday Thursday, up from around 4.13% a week ago.
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