Mortgage rates hit 7.4 percent for first time since November 2023

This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. Mortgage rates increased again this week, with the average 30-year rate hitting 7.4 percent for the first time since November 2023, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. The average 30-year mortgage rate rose 12 basis points from last week, when it was 7.28 percent, according to the government-sponsored company. This rate has risen for seven consecutive weeks and has sat above 7 percent for three weeks straight — the first such stretch since April and May 2024. Mortgage rates had also not hit 7.4 percent since mid-November 2023, when the average 30-year rate was 7.44 percent. Home loan borrowing costs have spiked amid the U. S.’s ongoing war with Iran and a global bond market sell-off, as investors flee the market due to persistent inflation and elevated oil prices. The week before the U. S. and Israel attacked Iran, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 142 basis points less than the figure FreddieMac recorded this week. The 10-year U. S. Treasury bond yield similar rose following the war, jumping 130 basis points from the day before the war started to closing time Wednesday. During his 2024 presidential campaign, President Trump promised to deliver lower mortgage rates for Americans, predicting they would fall to 3 percent during his second term. “Young people will be able to buy a home again and be a part of the American Dream,” the president said in September 2024 at The Economic Club of New York, when the average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.35 percent, according to Freddie Mac. As mortgage rates rose throughout the spring, summer and early fall, the president repeatedly blamed the Federal Reserve — which raised interest rates by a quarter point last month. Trump doubled down on Wednesday, saying the central bank “would like to see the country do badly,” while praising Fed Chair Kevin Warsh as “great.” Later in the day, the president acknowledged rising mortgage rates are impacting the housing market but predicted they would decline once the war ends and oil prices fall. “It hurts housing, but the rates are going to come down when the oil comes down,” he told reporters at the White House. “The oil comes down as soon as we finish off with Iran, and that’s going to be very quickly.” Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is trading at more than $103 per gallon as of Thursday afternoon. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.