The average US 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.01% this week, its lowest level since September 2022.
This marks a decrease from 6.09% last week and is significantly down from 6.85% one year ago.
Driving the news: Mortgage rates generally follow the 10-year Treasury yield, which was at 4.08% midday Thursday, slightly lower than a week earlier.
- Rates have been declining for months, helping boost home sales in late 2025, but not enough to lift the housing market out of its prolonged slump.
Zoom in; Sales of previously owned homes remained at 30-year lows last year, with a sharp monthly drop recently and the slowest annualized sales pace in over two years.
- New data indicate pending home sales fell 0.8% in January compared to the previous month, and 0.4% year-over-year.
- High home prices and a chronic shortage of available homes due to years of low construction have priced out many potential buyers.
- Refinancing activity has increased, with the average 15-year fixed rate dropping to 5.35% from 5.44% last week; a year ago, it was 6.04%.
- Mortgage applications rose 2.8% last week, with refinancing loans making up 57.4% of total applications.
- The recent rate drop follows the Federal Reserve’s pause on interest rate cuts after decreasing rates three times at the end of 2025.
