Mortgage rates experienced a slight uptick this week, with the average interest rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rising to 6.49%, up from 6.43% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey released on Thursday [1]. This rate remains below the 6.72% average recorded a year ago [1]. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate also increased marginally to 5.82%, compared to 5.79% last week and 5.86% a year prior [1].
Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater noted that mortgage rates have remained relatively steady in recent weeks, and highlighted that economic growth and housing affordability are improving for homebuyers in the current market environment [1]. The 10-year Treasury yield, which mortgage rates tend to track, hovered around 4.5% as of Thursday afternoon [1].
The housing market has shown some improvement for buyers, with Realtor.com releasing a midyear update to its 2026 housing market forecast. The update estimates that home price growth will slow to 1.2% this year, which is slower than the original forecast and below the current pace of inflation, indicating that home prices are effectively declining in real, inflation-adjusted terms [1]. Realtor.com senior economist Danielle Hale commented that the first half of 2026 brought stability rather than momentum to the housing market, as sellers reset expectations, price growth cools, and buyers gain more negotiating power [1].
Looking ahead, Hale expects momentum to build in the second half of the year as more buyers and sellers return to the market and find agreeable terms [1]. Mortgage rates are projected to hold steady at 6.3%, the same level as at the end of 2025, with a resurgence of inflation—attributed to the Iran war—having undercut the prospects of interest rate cuts earlier in the year that could have helped mortgage rates decline [1].
CONCLUSION
Mortgage rates have edged slightly higher but remain relatively stable, with the housing market showing signs of improved affordability and slower price growth. Analysts expect continued stability and gradual momentum in the market, with mortgage rates projected to hold steady through the remainder of the year.