Mortgage rates held steady again this week, giving prospective homebuyers little relief as the spring buying and selling season approaches.
The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.67% this week through Wednesday, according to Freddie Mac data, compared with 6.65% a week earlier. 15-year mortgage rates averaged 5.83%, little changed from 5.8% a week earlier.
Mortgage rates have drifted lower this year from highs of around 7% but have stagnated between 6.6% and 6.7% amid growing uncertainty about what President Trump’s tariff policies will mean for the economy. 10-year Treasury yields, which closely track mortgage rates, were little changed this week until Wednesday, when they declined in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve’s meeting.
The Fed left benchmark interest rates unchanged and forecast an additional 50 basis points of rate cuts later this year, a projection that was little changed from December.
Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments
But central bank officials raised their expectations for inflation this year while lowering outlook for economic growth. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in prepared remarks that uncertainty around the Trump administration’s trade, immigration, fiscal, and regulatory policies remains high.
The central bank doesn’t have direct control over mortgage rates, which typically move based on expectations about future Fed policy decisions.
Mortgage applications for home purchases were effectively flat through Friday compared with a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinancing applications fell 13% week over week, though they remain 70% higher than a year ago when interest rates averaged around 6.9%.
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J.C. de Ona, southeast Florida division president for Centennial Bank, said he’s noticed mortgage demand pick up in recent weeks as rates continue to fall and the spring homebuying season begins. But he thinks some homebuyers are still sidelined, hoping to see bigger rate declines.
“I think some are probably hopeful that they get back into the fives,” de Ona said.
Even though there hasn’t been a dramatic change in mortgage rates, home sales rose 4.2% in February compared to a month earlier, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. Unsold inventory of existing homes climbed 5.1% from a month earlier.
Claire Boston is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.
