Mortgage rates are rising again amid election volatility

Mortgage rates rose for the sixth straight week after Treasury yields rose during the presidential election.

According to data from Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.79% through Wednesday, compared with 6.72% a week earlier. The average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage remained essentially unchanged at 6% from 5.99%.

Mortgage rates typically mirror 10-year Treasury yields, which have risen quickly in recent weeks as traders grew increasingly confident that former President Donald Trump would win Tuesday’s election and impose inflationary measures such as tariffs.

Read more: Mortgage rates are still rising – is this a good time to buy a home?

Bond yields rose another 16 basis points on Wednesday following Trump’s victory before giving back some of their rise on Thursday, reaching a yield of about 4.36%.

The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates this afternoon, a move that is unlikely to impact mortgage rates in the coming weeks.

Nevertheless, many real estate market experts now assume that mortgage interest rates will remain high for longer. Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, said she still expects interest rates to decline from current levels but believes they will be volatile and could remain above 6% throughout next year.

“Interest rates will likely remain a little higher than we would have expected,” Sturtevant said.

Higher interest rates also slowed real estate activity for the sixth straight week. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, home purchase applications fell 5% compared to the previous week, while refinances fell 19%.

“It is clear that purchasing demand is very sensitive to mortgage rates in the current market environment,” Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said in a statement. “As soon as interest rates began to rise in early October, purchase applications fell, falling 10 percent last month.”

Read more: Mortgage and refinance rates today, November 7, 2024: 30-year interest rate is over 6.75%

Claire Boston is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages and home insurance.

Click here for real estate and housing market news, reports and analysis to help you make your investment decisions

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance