Mortgage Rates Top 7%, Reaching Highest Point Since February 2025
Mortgage rates have topped 7% after the Federal Open Market Committee voted last week to raise the benchmark interest rates.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 7.15% on Monday, Bankrate said. Mortgage rates reached their highest level since February 2025, Bankrate noted.
Mortgage analysts have shifted from expecting a decline in borrowing costs to preparing for mortgage rates to remain around 7% for an extended period. That will put continued pressure on affordability and housing demand.
The average rate for a 30–year fixed mortgage rose to 6.97% last week, the highest level since February 2025, according to Bankrate’s national survey of lenders.
Headwinds
“Home sales already are sluggish, and mortgage rates above 7% would only create more headwinds for transaction volumes,” Bankrate Housing Market Analyst Jeff Ostrowski told MortgagePoint. “The 7% threshold isn’t necessarily significant by itself. But considering that mortgage rates were headed below 6% earlier in 2026, elevated rates are just one more reason for home sellers not to sell and for buyers to stay on the sidelines.”
The rate increases were in response to the Fed’s vote, analysts noted.
“Longer-term rates, including mortgage rates, had already baked in the expectation of hikes at this and future meetings. Thus, longer-term rates have not moved much in response to this news,” Mortgage Bankers Association SVP and Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni said in a commentary after the Fed’s rate announcement.
“Housing and mortgage activity slowed abruptly as mortgage rates moved higher over the past several weeks. MBA forecasts two additional hikes from the Fed over the next year and expects mortgage rates to stay near current levels over the forecast horizon,” he said.
The post Mortgage Rates Top 7%, Reaching Highest Point Since February 2025 first appeared on The MortgagePoint.
