Mortgage rates fell for the first time in more than a month this week, giving borrowers a brief break after a stretch of stubbornly high costs. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate was 6.37% through Wednesday, down from 6.46% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data.
The drop came largely after the United States entered a ceasefire with Iran this week, easing some worries that the conflict would drive up oil prices and keep inflation sticky. Stocks rallied on Wednesday, and the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 4.3%, a move that matters because mortgage rates closely track that benchmark.
Zillow senior economist Kara Ng said recent geopolitical developments had brought a slight reprieve to mortgage rates, but she also said they remain well above February's lows. That gap matters for buyers and homeowners alike, including anyone comparing purchase loans with refinance rates, which can be higher but are not always the same.
The relief may not last. By midday Thursday, Treasury yields and oil prices were ticking up again as renewed concerns about the fragility of the agreement and a sticky February inflation reading pushed them higher. For now, the decline offers only a short opening in a market that still sits far above where it was in February.
