Mortgage rates move to highest level in 5 weeks

Home buyers appear to be adjusting to a new normal of high mortgage rates, even at their highest level in more than a month. Buyers’ demand for mortgages helped total mortgage application volume rise 1.7% last week compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan balances of $832,750 or less increased from 6.45% to 6.46%; Points including the origination fee for loans with 20% down payment decreased from 0.66 to 0.63.

Mortgage applications to buy a home rose 4% for the week and were 7% higher than the same week a year ago. Buyer demand stalled at the start of the spring housing market, which coincided with the beginning of the war with Iran.

“Potential homebuyers have put aside current economic and mortgage rate uncertainties and returned to the market,” MBA economist Joel Kan said in a statement.

During a conference call this week about April home sales, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said agents have reported an increase in buyer demand just in the last few weeks.

Applications to refinance a mortgage fell 1% this week and were 28% higher than the same week a year ago.

“Refinance applications declined slightly, led by conventional and VA refinances, accounting for just over 40 percent of applications last week, the lowest share since July 2025,” Kan said. he added.

Mortgage rates rose sharply starting this week in response to less optimistic news about a possible resolution of the Iran war as well as a warmer-than-expected monthly report on consumer prices. The 30-year average rate is up 14 basis points so far this week, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily.