Mortgage rates ticked higher this week, 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 increased to 6.22% from last week’s reading of 6.19%.
The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.6% a year ago.
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“The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is well below the year-to-date average of 6.62%, providing some sense of balance to the housing market,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
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The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 5.54% from last week’s reading of 5.49%.
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Freddie Mac’s latest data comes a day after the Federal Reserve lowered the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a new range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The move follows rate cuts of that size in September and October, which were the first of the year.
Mortgage rates are not directly affected by the Fed’s interest rate decision, but closely track the 10-year Treasury yield. The 10-year yield hovered around 4.15% as of Thursday afternoon.
“With the meeting behind us, markets will turn their attention to upcoming labor data,” said Jeff DerGurahian, LoanDepot’s chief investment officer. “The path to lower mortgage rates heading into 2026 may be paved if the data backs up the Fed’s expectations for continued weaker labor and under-control inflation, potentially breaking below the holding pattern we’ve seen in recent months.”
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