Mortgage rates rose to 6.55% this week, the highest level in nearly a year, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released Thursday. The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.55%, up from 6.49% the prior week and well above last year’s 6.75% reading. The 15-year fixed rate rose to 5.93% from 5.82% a week earlier. Freddie Mac’s chief economist Sam Khater noted that while the pace of home-price growth is expected to slow, affordability has shown some improvement as inventory trends shift and demand ebbs and flows. The 10-year Treasury yield hovered around 4.57% on Thursday afternoon, and mortgage rates tend to move with this benchmark, particularly when oil markets are volatile.
The impact on prospective buyers comes as June CPI data showed headline inflation cooling to 3.5% and core inflation easing to 2.6%, figures that came in below expectations and offered some relief to rate-watchers. However, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East contributed to firmer oil prices and higher Treasury yields, suggesting mortgage rates could follow the uptick in financial markets as long as energy markets stay unsettled.
Conditions in the housing market have shown some improvement for buyers, even as tight inventory has continued to support higher prices. Realtor.com’s midyear housing forecast has been revised to reflect a slower pace of home-price growth, with a forecast of 1.2% for 2026, a rate that remains slower than the pace of current inflation. The combination of higher mortgage costs and evolving affordability has kept neutral sentiment among buyers, with purchase demand showing signs of stabilization rather than a rapid rebound.
In sum, the latest Freddie Mac data confirm mortgage rates reaching their month’s peak and staying elevated, underscoring the delicate balance between inflation trajectories, energy prices, and housing demand as market watchers assess the next moves in rates and affordability.
