Mortgage rates edged up slightly this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate averaging around 6.22%, up from 6.19% last week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 30-year was 6.60%.
“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,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement.
The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week was 5.54%, up from 5.44% last week but down from 5.84% a year ago.
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to trim the fed funds rate by a quarter point – however, rates barely budged as of Thursday.
Samir Dedhia, CEO of One Real Mortgage, says “even though these week-over-week changes are minimal, they’re happening in a broader environment of relative stability.”
“Mortgage rates have now remained within a tight range for over a month, which is helping bring predictability and confidence back to the market,” Dedhia says in a statement. “What’s key here is that we’re still well below the 2025 average of 6.62 percent, and meaningfully down from the 7 percent-plus highs earlier this year.”
“These improvements are directly tied to the three rate cuts the Fed has made so far in 2025, including the most recent one in December,” Dedhia says. “That’s the most rate reductions we’ve seen in a calendar year since the pandemic, and it’s helped put downward pressure on borrowing costs across the board.
“Still, we’re not out of the woods,” he adds. “After the Fed’s December cut, markets initially rallied, but Fed Chair Powell’s cautious tone in the press conference reminded everyone that future moves will be data-dependent. Inflation isn’t fully tamed, and labor market signals remain mixed. So we’re now seeing some back-and-forth in bond yields, which keeps mortgage rates hovering. That said, for buyers and homeowners, this remains a window of opportunity. Rates are near their lowest levels in over a year, housing supply is improving, and more sellers are entering the market. If you’re on the sidelines, this is a good moment to prepare.”
Photo: Alison Pang