Mortgage rates are edging lower again heading into the spring selling season, after spending much of the past few years pinning the housing market in a slump. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey shows the average 30-year fixed rate slipping to 6.01%, the lowest level since September 2022, even as affordability remains strained by high prices and limited supply.
The rate drop is showing up in demand for financing, but not yet in closed sales. Mortgage applications rose 2.8% last week, with refinancings making up a majority, while pending home sales, a forward-looking measure that typically leads completed deals by a month or two, fell 0.8% in January.
- There’s still a big “lock-in” effect: Homes.com data cited by CBS found that in the second half of 2025, more owners had mortgages at or above 6% than loans below 3%, a shift that could slowly loosen inventory if rates keep easing.
- Rate shopping is starting to matter more. A Yahoo Finance survey highlighted that the number of lenders offering sub-6% 30-year fixed APRs nearly doubled this week, even while the national average is still just above 6%.
What to watch next: whether rates can move sustainably into the mid-to-upper 5% range without a rebound in bond yields. In the background, the Fed has paused additional cuts, and officials have signaled they want more progress on inflation before moving again, a backdrop that could keep mortgage rates from falling quickly.
