Mortgage rates fell for the first time in six weeks, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.67% from last week's reading of 6.69%.
The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.58% a year ago.
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"Housing affordability has improved from a year ago, and recent increases in purchase and refinance applications suggest that borrowers continue to respond to even modest changes in mortgage rates," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist.
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The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.96% from last week's reading of 6.01%.
Mortgage rates are affected by several factors, including the Federal Reserve and geopolitics. Though mortgage rates are not directly affected by the Fed's interest rate decisions, they closely track the 10-year Treasury yield. The 10-year yield hovered around 4.64% as of Thursday afternoon.
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"The 10-year Treasury yield increased only slightly this week as the conflict in Iran has drawn on, putting pressure on oil prices and thereby expectations of future inflation," said Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner. "Yesterday’s CPI print came in right in line with expectations, having little impact on the markets. While it’s certainly good news that inflation did not surprise us by coming in hotter than expected, a cooler readout could have given the Federal Reserve more pause on what looks like an upcoming rate hike before the end of 2026 after holding rates late last month."
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The current conflict in the Middle East has also affected borrowing rates.
"All told, there is little downward pressure on mortgage rates between a Middle East conflict that’s keeping inflation high and a Federal Reserve that’s laser-focused on driving that inflation lower," Berner said. "Current mortgage rate levels may become quite familiar in the months ahead."
