Average long-term mortgage rates edge higher, snapping 9-week slide

abcnews.go.com:

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged higher this week, ending a nine-week slide that gave prospective homebuyers some breathing room after home loan borrowing soared to the highest level in more than two decades

LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged higher this week, ending a nine-week slide that gave prospective homebuyers some breathing room after home loan borrowing soared to the highest level in more than two decades.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage inched up to 6.62% from 6.61% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.48%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, kept easing this week, bringing the average rate to 5.89% from 5.93% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.73%, Freddie Mac said.

This week's slight increase in the average rate on a 30-year home loan follows a sharp pullback in mortgage rates since late October, when its climbed to 7.79%, the highest level since late 2000.

The move mirrored a decline in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing loans. The yield, which in mid October surged to its highest level since 2007, has moved lower on expectations that inflation has cooled enough for the Federal Reserve to shift to cutting interest rates after yanking them dramatically higher since early 2022.

The Fed has opted to not move rates at its last three meetings, which has also given financial markets a boost.

“Given the expectation of rate cuts this year from the Federal Reserve, as well as receding inflationary pressures, we expect mortgage rates will continue to drift downward as the year unfolds,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief