Mortgage rates are rising again
A “Coming Soon” sign in front of a home listed for sale in Hercules, California, USA on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mortgage rates continued their rise last week, but homebuyers returned to the market, perhaps benefiting from less competition and some price reductions. That helped total mortgage demand rise 1.9% 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 6.65% to 6.69%; Points including origination fee for loans with 20% down payment decreased from 0.67 to 0.62. This was the highest rate since last August.
As a result, refinancing demand, which is highly sensitive to weekly rate movements, fell 2% week on week and was only 7% higher than the same week a year ago. At this time last year, the average for the 30-year fixed loan was just 15 basis points higher.
Mortgage applications to buy a home rose 6% for the week and were up 0.2% year-on-year; remained essentially stable. Potential buyers are starting to take a break as the market adjusts to the historically slower summer months. According to CNBC’s Housing Market Research report, real estate agents say sellers appear more willing to lower prices.
“Increasing home inventory in many markets is supporting greater buying activity,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA senior vice president and chief economist. “Incoming data showed that inflation fell in June, but with oil prices on the rise again, it seems unlikely that this improvement will continue in July data, and as a result, mortgage interest rates are likely to remain high.”
Mortgage rates rose further starting this week, reaching their last high in mid-May, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily. New developments in the war with Iran overshadowed last week’s colder-than-expected inflation reports.
“For those who want to keep the analysis simple, fuel prices do a good enough job of explaining the movement. In fact, August gasoline futures also reached their May 19 highs this week – perfectly in line with the round-trip in rates,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.
