Mortgage rates are little changed as financial markets swing wildly

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Rates for home loans dropped slightly, offering a slight reprieve to Americans in the market to buy a home amid turbulence in the broader financial markets.

In the week ending April 10, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.62%, Freddie Mac announced Thursday. That’s down from 6.64% last week and 6.65% the week before.

Those figures don’t include fees or points, and rates in some parts of the country may be higher or lower than the national average.

Financial markets have been in turmoil since President Donald Trump announced a new set of tariffs on various trading partners on April 2. Investors are watching the trajectory of the bond market carefully, since government bonds, like Treasurys, guide pricing for other products, such as mortgages.

As a reminder, yields (rates) move in the opposite direction from prices. If investors are selling fixed-income products, prices go lower and yields higher. But if there’s more demand, prices go higher and yields fall.

Bonds are less attractive when economic growth is strong. They do better during downturns when investors prize stability − and when stocks, which represent a share of the future growth prospects of a company − are less certain.

In the past week, bonds have been slammed hard, leaving many financial professionals uneasy. Mortgage rates aren’t likely to rise as sharply as bond yields have, but there’s little chance of ultra-low borrowing costs in the housing market any time soon.

“It’s hard to predict the direction of mortgage rates with any conviction,” said Kara Ng, senior economist at Zillow Home Loans, in an April 9 release. Over the past 10 days, mortgage rates have touched the lowest levels since October and then swung back to nearly 7%, she noted. “If mortgage rates stay at these high levels, buyers will be even more challenged by costs.”