Mortgage rates topped 7% this week, a key psychological threshold, in a sign of the US housing market’s unrelenting affordability challenges.

“Mortgage rates ticked up for the fifth consecutive week and crossed 7% for the first time since May of 2024,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The underlying strength of the economy is contributing to this increase in rates."

With sticky inflation and rising bond yields, mortgage rates continue to move higher. The Mortgage Bankers Association, whose readings are often slightly h

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage topped 7% for the first time since last May, although late in the week, the 10-year Treasury peaked before reversing course.

The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages surpassed 7 percent for the first time since May, Freddie Mac reported on Thursday, extending a weekslong climb that could push more buyers and sellers to the sidelines.

As of Jan. 9, the national average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 6.93%, inching closer to 7%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS).  That’s up from last week’s 6.91% average and marks the fourth consecutive week of increases.

Mortgage rates in the United States have surpassed the 7% mark, reaching their highest level since May 2024. According to Freddie Mac's weekly survey, the

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage reached 7.04% for the week ending January 16 — the highest level since May.

Annual inflation has risen again for the third straight month, in a troubling sign for mortgage rates that are already creeping close to 7%. Overall prices rose 2.9% in December 2024 from a year earlier, higher than the 2.7% pace recorded in November, according to the Labor Department's consumer price index (CPI) data released Wednesday.

President Joe Biden will leave the White House with a strong economy, historic gains in the job market, a foundation for future manufacturing growth, and having brought down decades-high inflation without triggering a recession.

U.S. mortgage rates rose for consecutive weeks in January of 2025. That's the word from Freddie Mac, which released its latest data. Freddie Mac reports the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 7.04% for the week ending Jan. 16 — up from 6.93% last week. A year ago, mortgage rates averaged 6.60%.

The economy and the markets are complex, and the only way to understand them is to consider more than a few metrics as you piece together the mosaic of crosscurrents that define them.