Housing News

Mortgage Rates Inch Up as the Summer Housing Market Approaches

As the housing market approaches the busy summer season, mortgage interest rates ticked up slightly as oil prices remained elevated.

Rates averaged 6.53% for 30-year fixed-rate loans in the week ending May 28, according to the latest Freddie Mac data. That was up from 6.51% the previous week.

However, mortgage rates were still lower than they were a year ago at this time, when they averaged 6.89%.

Nationally, home list prices were also down. They dipped 1.4% year-over-year to a median $425,000 in April, according to Realtor.com.

“There’s latent demand and homebuyers are ready to jump back into the market if mortgage rates decline,” said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater in a statement.

Homebuyers applied for 5% more mortgages in the week ending May 22 compared to a year earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s unadjusted purchase index.

Applications from homeowners hoping to refinance their loans were 19% higher year-over-year, according to the association.

“There’s an important silver lining for housing demand right now,” wrote Realtor.com Senior Economist Jake Krimmel in a recent post. “Rates remain 36 basis points below where they were at this point last year. And that may explain why this spring has proven more resilient than the tariff-marred one last year.”

Buyers who purchased a $425,000 home with 20% at today’s 6.53% rate would save about $81 a month compared to if they had bought the same home at this time last year. In a year, those savings add up to roughly $975.

That represents more than $29,000 over the life of a 30-year, fixed-rate loan.

“Despite higher rates and more economic uncertainty than expected, this spring is shaping up as the most active in four years,” wrote Krimmel.

“Buyers have more homes to choose from, and asking prices continue to soften, but their dollars don’t stretch as far as they did a few months back,” he wrote. “A resolution to the conflict, therefore, would do a world of good for mortgage rates, consumers, and the housing market.”