- Daily indexed mortgage rates rose to 6.85% across the nation.
- Weekly average U.S. mortgage rate hit 6.58%.
- Ongoing war in Iran seen as driving up rates.
Mortgage rates just reached the highest level in more than a year.
The daily index for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the U.S. jumped to 6.85% Thursday, tracking by Mortgage News Daily showed, a hike of 0.08 percentage points from Wednesday’s 6.77% rate.
The weekly average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is also up, climbing to 6.58% as of Thursday, a 0.03 percentage increase from the previous week, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, better known as Freddie Mac.
Rates haven’t been this high since last summer.
Shortly before the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran nearly five months ago, mortgage rates had fallen below 6% for the first time since 2022. The conflict has escalated after the recent cease fire collapsed, driving the cost of gas back up over $4 a gallon again this week.
The renewed surge in fuel prices, including oil going for more than $100 a barrel, and increased uncertainty about the war is putting pressure on the long-term U.S. Treasury bond market that’s tied to mortgage rates, Mortgage News Daily’s Matthew Graham reported Wednesday.
He said the situation is increasing “inflation expectations, and it’s inflation that is the actual thorn in the bond market’s side.” CNN reported Thursday the 10-year US Treasury yield was up four basis points, to 4.71%, its highest level since January 2025.
Graham suggested Thursday there might be a silver lining, given that mortgage rates had managed to stay below 6.77% since last July and below 6.85% since last June. In early 2025, rates were above 7%.
The bottom line, he posted, is that “being ‘the highest in more than a year’ says more about the past year than it does about the actual rate level. It is not ideal, but also not the end of the world.”
The Freddie Mac site noted that a year ago, the weekly average mortgage rate was 6.74% and offered some advice to would-be home buyers along with the latest rate update:
“As market conditions continue to evolve, borrowers should remember that shopping around for a mortgage rate can make a meaningful difference, potentially saving them thousands over the loan’s lifetime.”