Mortgage rates ticked down slightly this week despite inflation concerns rising after this week’s CPI report.
The average mortgage rate decreased 1 basis point to 6.36% down from 6.37% last week, according to the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), released by Freddie Mac Thursday.
Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant said mortgage rates may have entered a new phase and will likely remain in the 6.3% to 6.5% range through early summer. With inflation running high and the job market solid, she said it’s “very unlikely” that the Federal Reserve will cut rates at their next meeting.
“The spring homebuying season had started to gain some momentum in April, but that momentum could stall,” Sturtevant said. “Some sellers with low mortgage rates are still feeling locked in which could restrain new listings. For buyers, rates at close to 6.5% continue to hold back some home shoppers.”
She also noted that the late spring market could be driven by people buying and selling out of necessity rather than those wanting to make a discretionary move. Moves of necessity include changing family and employment situations, which are usually the strongest drivers of home sales activity.
“But people who want to trade up or downsize but do not have to move may wait until later in the year when mortgage rates and the economy are more certain,” she added.
Senior Economist at Realtor.com Joel Berner noted mortgage rates were able to relax ever so slightly this week as oil prices have steadied and more importantly, as demand for mortgage-backed securities increased.
“The upward pressure on mortgage rates from the broader debt market (as evidenced by the increased yield on the 10-year Treasury) was offset this week by a modest increase in the prices of mortgage-backed securities, which pushed mortgage rates down,” Berner said. “The Freddie Mac rate has been moving in large swings up and down since the onset of the war in Iran, and the whiplash’s effect on buyers has been to keep them sidelined.”
He also attributed that to part of the reason why home sales have been stagnant so far in 2026, notching only marginal improvements over the 30-year low of the 2025 housing market.
“Uncertainty has ruled the market for months, and while buyers certainly wish rates were back in the 5% territory we saw earlier this year, they are still significantly lower than they were last year at this time,” Berner said. “The spring homebuying season should be a great opportunity for buyers, with inventory up and prices down, so it remains to be seen whether they will capitalize on this period of steady rates.”
He noted that though the mortgage rate relief is slight, this week’s readout is a sign of some much-wanted stability.
Click here for the full Freddie Mac report.
