Mortgage rates rose this week, pushing the average 30-year fixed mortgage to 6.3%, as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions lifted oil prices and renewed inflation concerns. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also increased, rising to 5.64% from 5.58% last week.
Current mortgage rates have moved higher during the spring home-buying season, when borrower demand typically strengthens. Rates tend to track the 10-year Treasury yield, which rose as energy prices fed inflation expectations.
Mortgage rates had dipped below 6% in late February for the first time since late 2022, but moved back above that level after the Middle East conflict began and have remained above 6%.
Mortgage Bankers Association data showed mortgage applications were up 21% from the same period a year earlier, suggesting some buyers continued to move ahead despite higher borrowing costs.
Read: UK Mortgage Rates Fall to Lowest Level Since September 2022
The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, April 29, that it would continue holding off on interest rate cuts, citing high oil prices as one factor weighing on the outlook.
As of April 30, the 30-year fixed rate stood at 6.11%, the 20-year fixed at 6.08%, the 15-year fixed at 5.62%, and the 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage at 6.11%.
The 10-year Treasury yield was 4.39%, up from 4.34% last week and 3.97% before the Iran war began in late February.
