By Alex Veiga
This week, the average 30-year U.S. mortgage rates eased, with little to future home buyers facing record home prices.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the long-term rate fell from 6.75% to 6.74%. A year ago, the price averaged 6.78%.
The borrowing costs for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, which are popular for homeowners to refinance their mortgage, have also been eased. The average rate fell to 5.87% from 5.92% last week. A year ago, that was 6.07%, Freddie Mac said.
The rise in mortgage rates is heavier in the US housing market. This goes back to 2022 and 2022 when it began to rise from the low rock bottom that reached during the pandemic.
Sales of US homes, which were previously occupied in 2024, have slowed down this year as rising home prices and stubbornly high mortgage rates have made them less financially acceptable to many Americans.
The rise in mortgage fees is also blocking sales as many homeowners locked in mortgage interest rates at a much lower rate.
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ economic and inflation expectations.
The main barometer is the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to mortgage pricing. Yields fell from 4.40% on Wednesday at 4.41% at noon on Thursday. This follows the latest signal that appears to have the US economy retained OK despite tariffs and all the pressures from elsewhere.
Yields have risen for much of this month as traders bet the Fed will stabilize key short-term interest rates at next week’s meeting, despite President Donald Trump calling for the Fed to demand lower interest rates.
A non-independent Fed could mean a drop in the short-term rate that affects the interest consumers pay on credit cards and car loans, but could have the opposite effect on long-term debt yields that affect mortgage rates.
The average 30-year mortgage rate remains relatively high so far, slightly above the 7% this year set in mid-January. The low rate for the 30 years this year fell to 6.62% in early April.
Original issue: July 24th, 2025, 12:28pm EDT
