{"id":50124,"date":"2026-05-12T20:22:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/mortgage-rates-move-higher-keeping-the-spring-housing-market-in-a-holding-pattern\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T20:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:22:20","slug":"mortgage-rates-move-higher-keeping-the-spring-housing-market-in-a-holding-pattern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/mortgage-rates-move-higher-keeping-the-spring-housing-market-in-a-holding-pattern\/","title":{"rendered":"Mortgage rates move higher, keeping the spring housing market in a holding pattern"},"content":{"rendered":"

Economic conditions continue to keep the costs of a home loan higher, with the war in Iran, inflationary concerns and a slow but stabilizing job market serving as the key headwinds to a potential spring housing market<\/a> surge.<\/p>\n

Mortgage rates moved higher for a second straight week, according to HousingWire<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Mortgage Rates Center<\/a>. Rates for 30-year conforming loans stood at 6.49% on Tuesday, up 5 basis points from one week ago<\/a> and 10 bps higher than two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, rates for 30-year loans through the Federal Housing Administration<\/strong> (FHA) increased 3 bps to 6.19% and rates for 30-year jumbo loans were unchanged at 6.29%. HousingWire\u2019s data analyzed locked loan rates across all borrower credit profiles.<\/p>\n

Mortgage News Daily, which relies on best-execution pricing from lender rate sheets, reported Monday that 30-year fixed rates were at 6.49%, up 7 bps since Friday. \u201cThis follows news over the weekend that Trump rejected Iran\u2019s counterproposal to end the war,\u201d MND explained. \u201cIn general, the longer the war continues, the higher oil prices will remain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Higher oil prices have factored into higher inflation<\/a>, which will also have an impact on borrowing costs moving forward. Data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/strong> showed that the all-items index for April was up 0.6% from March, which was slower than the 0.9% increase from February to March. On a yearly basis, however, inflation in April rose to 3.8%, compared to 3.3% in March.<\/p>\n

Limited upside for homebuyers and sellers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cFor housing, this report makes near-term rate relief harder to come by,\u201d Sam Williamson, senior economist at First<\/strong> American<\/strong>, said in a statement. \u201cThe 10-year Treasury yield has risen sharply since early March and remains near its highest level since last summer, which is likely to keep a floor under mortgage rates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat does not erase the improvement in affordability<\/a> over the past year, or the support from rising inventory and pent-up life-cycle demand, but it does limit the upside for housing activity until rates move lower and consumers feel more confident about the economic outlook.\u201d<\/p>\n

After rates rose last week, Kyle Bass, production business manager at Refi.com<\/strong> \u2014 an affiliate of Mortgage Research Center<\/strong> and Veterans United Home Loans <\/strong>\u2014 said that consumers remain in a better position today compared to this time last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround a year ago, average 30-year mortgage rates were sitting near 6.76% \u2026 and that difference can create real savings for borrowers carrying higher-rate mortgages,\u201d Bass said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, a homeowner with a $350,000 mortgage at a 7.50% interest rate would have a principal and interest payment of roughly $2,450 per month. Refinancing<\/a> that same loan closer to today\u2019s rate environment at 6.37% could reduce the payment to approximately $2,180 per month, creating savings of roughly $270 per month, or more than $3,200 annually.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this week\u2019s Housing Market Tracker<\/a>, HousingWire Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami pointed to mortgage spreads as the key for lower rates in 2026. Based on the worst spreads from the past three years, rates could range anywhere from 7% to 7.57%.<\/p>\n

Potential policy shift?<\/h2>\n

Kevin Warsh, who was nominated<\/a> by President Donald Trump in January as the next Federal Reserve<\/strong> chair, is in position to be confirmed this week. Warsh already cleared a key vote<\/a> in the Senate<\/strong> banking committee, and on Monday, he advanced in a procedural vote.<\/p>\n

A final vote to confirm him as Fed chair is expected Wednesday, according to reporting<\/a> from Politico. That would allow Warsh to take the reins before Jerome Powell<\/a>\u2019s tenure officially ends Friday. Powell has already said that he will serve the remaining two years of his term as a Fed governor.<\/p>\n

While Warsh was handpicked by Trump, who has repeatedly campaigned<\/a> for lower interest rates, a new Fed chief is unlikely to sway monetary policy in the short term. Late last month, the central bank held the federal funds rate<\/a> at a range of 3.5% to 3.75% for a third straight meeting, with Stephen Miran casting the only vote in favor of a cut.<\/p>\n

With inflation running higher and employment<\/a> showing tepid growth in early 2026, interest rate traders see little hope on the horizon for lower rates. The odds of a rate cut at the next Fed meeting in June currently stand at 2.4%, rising only slightly in July and September, according to the CME Group<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s FedWatch tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime will tell if and when these circumstances change, but there is a high likelihood we won\u2019t see any rate reduction until December at the earliest,\u201d said Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality<\/strong>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Economic conditions continue to keep the costs of a home loan higher, with the war in Iran, inflationary concerns and a slow but stabilizing job market serving as the key headwinds to a potential spring housing market surge. Mortgage rates moved higher for a second straight week, according to HousingWire\u2019s Mortgage Rates Center. Rates for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50124"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50124\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mk.gen.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}