- Mortgage rates rose to 6.11% amid the U.S.-Iran war's economic impact.
- Freddie Mac reports rates increased from 6% last week, affecting homebuyer decisions.
- Rising oil prices drive inflation; geopolitical tensions influence Treasury yields and rates.
SALT LAKE CITY — Mortgage rates were up again this week as the economy continues to respond to the ongoing U.S. war in Iran.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the United States hit 6.11% for the week ending Thursday, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation that's better known as Freddie Mac.
That's up from 6% the previous week. Rates had fallen to 5.98% for the week ending Feb. 26, the first time they'd dipped below 6% since rates started to rise in 2022 from record lows during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, the Freddie Mac website pointed out that a year ago, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was at 6.65%, after briefly climbing above 7% in January 2025, noting purchase applications increased this week.
But Mortgage News Daily had the daily index for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.29% Thursday, up sharply from 6.24% a day earlier.
Hannah Jones, a senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, told The New York Times that mortgage rates may become another factor sidelining would-be homebuyers already facing high costs.
"Spring feels very uncertain," Jones said. "This definitely feels like we're back where we were a year ago: tariff uncertainty, economic uncertainty, geopolitical uncertainty. All of this is making the path ahead seem really unclear."
Polling last year found many would-be buyers nationally and in Utah were postponing big purchases like a new home due to the economic uncertainty created by President Donald Trump's changing tariffs that were recently declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Just days after mortgage rates fell below 6%, the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran that's sending an "oil shock" through the global economy as shipments from the Middle East have slowed to a standstill.
Surging oil prices are driving up inflation, as gas prices soar, increasing transportation costs for other products. "Higher inflation begets higher rates, all else equal," Mortgage News Daily posted in an analysis of rising mortgage rates.
After the Feb. 28 start of the war, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note that influences mortgage rates "has risen sharply," up to 4.25% Tuesday, the highest level since early February, CNN reported.
The cable news network cited a recent note by Jeff DerGurahian, chief investment officer and head economist at loanDepot, one of the country's largest nonbank retail mortgage lenders.
"Without the geopolitical tensions, we would likely be seeing a 10‑year Treasury well south of 4%, with mortgage rates in the high 5s," DerGurahian said, warning that the Federal Reserve will "err on the side of caution" on rate cuts if the war drags on and oil prices stay high.
"All of this hinges on the price of oil," he said.
