Mortgage rates in the U.S. edged lower again this week, with Freddie Mac reporting that the average benchmark 30-year fixed rate slipped to 6.01%—its lowest level in more than three years. The drop kept rates clustered around the 6% mark rather than sparking a rapid shift in mortgage pricing, according to the latest weekly readings.
Freddie Mac said the 30-year fixed rate fell to 6.01% from 6.09% in the prior week. One year earlier, it averaged 6.85%. The average rate is now at its lowest level since Sept. 8, 2022, when it was 5.89%.
Mortgage rates, lenders and investors use the same broad reference points, including Federal Reserve policy expectations and bond-market forecasts for inflation and economic growth. The report said mortgage rates generally track the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. That benchmark was at 4.09% at midday Thursday, down from around 4.09% a week earlier, and aligns with a recent easing trend in mortgage rates.
While rates have been trending down for months, the housing market has remained stuck in a slump that began in 2022 as mortgage rates climbed from pandemic-era lows. The report said sales of previously occupied U.S. homes remained at 30-year lows last year, and the latest month of sales showed a notable softening. It said home sales posted the biggest monthly drop in nearly four years and the slowest annualized pace in more than two years.
New data on contract signings also pointed to sluggish demand, with the National Association of Realtors reporting that a seasonally adjusted index of pending home sales fell 0.8% in January from the previous month. The same report said pending sales fell 0.4% from January a year earlier and described pending sales as a bellwether because there is usually a month or two lag between contract signings and completed transactions.
“In improving affordability conditions have yet to induce more buying activity,” said Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. The report also linked the market’s difficulty to earlier home-price runs and a persistent housing shortage, worsened by years of below-average home construction.
Mortgage rate changes can cut the monthly cost of borrowing for new buyers and can lower payments for homeowners refinancing existing loans. The report said the recent decline should be a favorable lead-in to the annual spring home-buying season for borrowers who can afford to buy at current rates.
Freddie Mac also reported that borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages—often used by homeowners refinancing—edged lower. It said the average 15-year rate fell to 5.35% from 5.44% last week. A year ago, the rate was 6.04%, Freddie Mac said.
Mortgage applications rose last week as borrowers continued shifting toward refinancing. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that applications increased 2.8% for the week, and that refinance applications accounted for 57.4% of all applications. The report said the recent drop in mortgage rates came three weeks after the Federal Reserve decided to pause further cuts to its main interest rate, after lowering rates three times to close out 2025, with officials watching whether inflation falls further before supporting additional cuts.