The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 8 basis points from the prior week, reaching its highest level since July 2025
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage came in at 6.66% for the week ending July 30, an increase of 8 basis points from 6.58% the previous week and the highest level in approximately a year. A year ago, the 30-year rate stood at 6.72%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also moved higher, averaging 6.04% this week compared with 5.96% last week. A year ago, the 15-year rate averaged 5.85%.
"The housing market continues to benefit from more available inventory, providing prospective homebuyers with additional options and helping support buyer activity as mortgage rates fluctuate," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said in a statement.
Rising oil prices and persistent inflation tied to the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran have been pushing mortgage rates higher, according to CNN. The 10-year Treasury yield, which mortgage rates broadly follow, has recently surged to levels not seen since January 2025, driven by investor bets that inflation will stay stubbornly high.
New inflation data released Thursday offered a partial reprieve. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index declined 0.1% between May and June, pulling the annual rate down to 3.7%. Energy prices temporarily retreated during a brief Middle East ceasefire, accounting for most of the monthly decrease. Inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.
The Fed voted this week to hold its benchmark interest rate steady, according to CNN. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh suggested that the recent climb in Treasury yields could be acting as a de facto tightening tool, spreading higher borrowing costs throughout the economy and lifting mortgage rates in the process.
The higher rate environment is weighing on borrower activity. Overall mortgage application volume declined 6.4% week over week, with refinance applications down 10%, citing Mortgage Bankers Association figures.
Rates have been climbing for weeks. The MBA recorded a 2.7% drop in total mortgage application volume for the week ending July 10, when the 30-year rate climbed to 6.65% — its highest since August 2025 at the time. That followed a similar pattern from late May, when the 30-year rate hit what was then a high for 2026 at 6.53% and overall application volume fell 8.5%.
"Oil and inflation remain the biggest drivers, and mortgage rates will likely need energy prices to settle and inflation to remain under control before they can move meaningfully lower," loanDepot head economist Jeff DerGurahian said.
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