Benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage fees rose by more than 7% amid turbulence in the tariffs and bond market.
It surpassed 7% on Friday amid selling in bond markets as the market absorbed the latest developments in US trade policies and global responses.
According to Mortgage News Daily, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage rose 7.1% to 13 basis points, the highest since February.
Experts say the rise in mortgage fees is poised to echo through the housing market. After three consecutive weeks of rate drop in March, mortgage applications surged temporarily in the week that ended April 4, with the Mortgage Bankers Association reporting a 20% increase, the highest level since September 2024.
Redfin says that as rates rise again, future home buyers are becoming more cautious. This predicts that demand improvements on April 10th are “not likely to continue.”
“The tariffs are coming for the first time. We held open houses over the weekend. Some of the younger buyers were worried about how they would affect the housing market,” Decily Bourgeois, Detroit’s Redfin premier agent, said in a statement. “They hear the words ‘customs’ and ‘recession’. And it’s nervous that when they buy now, their home will be reduced and their mortgage interest rates will rise. They are trying to understand how buyers fit into their personal finances and how economic confusion is wider. ”
Spike tracks 10-year financial yield rises, which rose to more than 4.5% on Friday. This was the highest level in nearly two months, marking the largest weekly increase since 2001 by the time the market closed.
Selling in the bond market was strengthened by hedge fund activities, according to a Reuters report. Large investors have unleashed what is called “base trading.” This is a leveraged strategy that benefits from the small price difference between financial obligations and their corresponding futures contracts. With these bets unraveled, funds dumped massive long-term treasury ministry, accelerated yields and put pressure on mortgage rates to rise.
Some analysts said recent global tariffs have driven stock market volatility and are questioning the safe state of the US Treasury.
“Investors around the world think America is the best place to invest… One way to express itself is lower yields,” Minneapolis Federal President Neil Kashkari told CNBC in an interview. “If the investor decides, ‘Hey, we want to invest elsewhere’ – all equally, it should boost yields. ”
On April 2, President Donald Trump imposed a 10% blanket tariff on almost all imports, and also imposed a sudden duties in 60 countries elected due to a massive trade imbalance. The president suspended mutual tariffs on US allies for 90 days, but he raised taxes on Chinese products to a cumulative 145%.
China retaliated with a 125% tariff on US imports. Meanwhile, tariffs on vehicles, steel and aluminum remain at 25%, and the import tax on blanket 10% is still in effect.
Trump said tariffs are a necessary reset of the global trading system that has long been unfairly treating the United States, aimed at enforcing foreign governments to more fair bilateral transactions and encourage reuse of manufacturing capabilities. He said that more than 75 countries have responded with diplomatic outreach, and 15 have recently submitted formal trade proposals under review.
However, quoting the market volatility (including bonds) on April 9, it suspended mutual tariffs in most countries over the 90-day period.
