Freddie Mac Mortgage Rates—April 3, 2025
What happened to mortgage rates this week
The Freddie Mac rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage had another minor retreat this week, falling by 1 basis point, to 6.64%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury had been sliding, giving mortgage rates a bit of room to ease. This week’s mortgage rate readout will serve as an important benchmark for the rest of the year. President Trump announced a sweeping range of tariffs on Wednesday afternoon that have sent the markets recoiling, and the impact of which will be seen in mortgage rates reported in the coming weeks. The 10-year Treasury has dipped even further on Thursday morning as investors are exiting the stock market, so it’s likely that mortgage rates will continue to come down in the coming months as a result. This shock to the system will be felt in the housing market for the rest of the year.
What it means for the housing market
Uncertainty is no doubt front and center on the minds of prospective homebuyers, and many of them have seen some portion of their wealth invested in the stock market dry up. It remains to be seen whether relief from mortgage rates will spur buyers to make a move in 2025, or if the broader economic conditions will slow things down. There has been encouraging news in recent months, even during these high mortgage rates, that home sales are picking up relative to a slow 2024. This week’s minor bit of relief may be enough to keep up this positive momentum, or the fallout from the tariff announcement may shake buyers’ confidence.