Mortgage rates jump to highest level in almost a year

Mortgage rates rose this week to the highest level in nearly a year, 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 climbed to 6.55% — the highest level since August 2025 — from last week's reading of 6.49%.

The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.75% a year ago.

"Purchase application demand has weakened recently, but housing affordability is more favorable and housing inventory continues to rise, thus the backdrop for prospective homebuyers is modestly improving," said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 5.93% from last week's reading of 5.82%.

Mortgage rates are affected by several factors, including the Federal Reserve and geopolitics.

Though mortgage rates are not directly affected by the Fed's interest rate decisions, they closely track the 10-year Treasury yield.

The 10-year yield hovered around 4.57% as of Friday afternoon.