Mortgage Rate Update | April 4, 2025

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of April 4, 2025, were as follows:

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.64%, nearly unchanged from 6.65% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.82%, down from 5.89% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Economic Update | Month Ending March 31, 2025

This week the Federal Reserve met to discuss monetary policy. On Wednesday they issued their monetary policy statement. While they left interest rates unchanged, they said that they are going to pause reducing their balance sheet in April. That means that the Fed will halt its sales of the treasury bond securities that they own. One of the ways that they brought long-term rates down during COVID and the financial crisis was to purchase treasury bonds and mortgage securities. Over the past three years they have been selling those assets to reduce their balance sheet. By halting those sales there will be fewer treasury bonds on the market which should drive yields and long-term interest rates lower. Bond yields and mortgage rates have dropped since the Fed made the announcement on Wednesday.

Stock markets -The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 41,985.35, up 1.2% from 41,488.19 last week. It is down 1.3% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,667.56, up 0.5% from 5,638.94 last week. The S&P is down 3.6% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 17,784.05, up 0.2% from 17,754.09 last week. It is down 7.9% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.25%, down from 4.31% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.59%, down from 4.62% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of March 20, 2025, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.67%, up slightly from 6.65% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.83%, up slightly from 5.80% last week. Rates ended the week lower after the Fed announced that they were going to pause reducing their balance sheet on Wednesday.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Home sales data is released on the third week of the month for the previous month by the California Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. These are February’s home sales figures.

U.S. existing-home sales February 2025 – The National Association of Realtorsreported that existing-home sales totaled 4.26-million units on a seasonal annualized rate in February, up 1.2% from an annualized rate of 4-million units last February. The median price for a home sold in the U.S. in February was $398,400 up 3.8% from $383,800 one year ago. There was a 3.5-month supply of homes for sale in February, up from a 3-month supply one year ago. First-time buyers accounted for 31% of all sales. Investors and second-home purchases accounted for 16% of all sales. All cash purchases accounted for 32% of all sales. Foreclosures and short salesaccounted for 3% of all sales.

California existing-home sales – The California Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 283,540 on an annualized basis in February, up 11.6% month-over-month from 254,110 homes sold on an annualized basis in January, and up 2.6% year-over-year from a revised 278,280 homes sold on an annualized basis. The statewide median price paid for a home in was $829,060 in February, up 2.8% from $806,480 one year ago. There was a 4-month supply of homes for sale in January, up from a 2.9-month supply of homes for sale last February.

The graph below lists home sales data by county in Southern California.

Economic Update | Week Ending March 29, 2025

Weekly Economic Upate
The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) for February was released on Friday. It is considered a preferred measurement of inflation by the Fed. it showed that the PCE price index grew at a 2.5% year-over-year rate, unchanged from January. The Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, rose 2.8% on an annual basis, up from a 2.7% annual increase in January, suggesting that inflation heated in February.

Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 41,583,90, down 1% from 41,985.35 last week. It is down 2.3% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,580.94, down 1.5% from 5,667.56 last week. The S&P is down 5.1% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 17,322.99, down 2.6% from 17,784.05 last week. It is down 10.3% year-to-date.
U.S. Treasury bond yields The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.27%, up slightly from 4.25% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.64%, up from 4.59% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of March 27, 2025, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.65%, down slightly from 6.67% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.89%, up from 5.83% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year

Have a Great Weekend!

Mortgage Rate Update | March 27, 2025

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of March 27, 2025, were as follows:

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.65%, down slightly from 6.67% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.89%, up from 5.83% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Economic Update | Week Ending March 22, 2025

Weekly Economic Upate
This week the Federal Reserve met to discuss monetary policy. On Wednesday they issued their monetary policy statement. While they left interest rates unchanged, they said that they are going to pause reducing their balance sheet in April. That means that the Fed will halt its sales of the treasury bond securities that they own. One of the ways that they brought long-term rates down during COVID and the financial crisis was to purchase treasury bonds and mortgage securities. Over the past three years, they have been selling those assets to reduce their balance sheet. By halting those sales there will be fewer treasury bonds on the market which should drive yields and long-term interest rates lower. Bond yields and mortgage rates have dropped since the Fed made the announcement on Wednesday.

Stock markets -The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 41,985.35, up 1.2% from 41,488.19 last week. It is down 1.3% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,667.56, up 0.5% from 5,638.94 last week. The S&P is down 3.6% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 17,784.05, up 0.2% from 17,754.09 last week. It is down 7.9% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.25%, down from 4.31% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.59%, down from 4.62% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of March 20, 2025, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.67%, up slightly from 6.65% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.83%, up slightly from 5.80% last week. Rates ended the week lower after the Fed announced that they were going to pause reducing their balance sheet on Wednesday.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Home sales data is released on the third week of the month for the previous month by the California Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. These are February’s home sales figures.

U.S. existing-home sales February 2025 – The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 4.26-million units on a seasonal annualized rate in February, up 1.2% from an annualized rate of 4-million units last February. The median price for a home sold in the U.S. in February was $398,400 up 3.8% from $383,800 one year ago. There was a 3.5-month supply of homes for sale in February, up from a 3-month supply one year ago. First-time buyers accounted for 31% of all sales. Investors and second-home purchases accounted for 16% of all sales. All cash purchases accounted for 32% of all sales. Foreclosures and short sales accounted for 3% of all sales.

California existing-home sales – The California Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales totaled 283,540 on an annualized basis in February, up 11.6% month-over-month from 254,110 homes sold on an annualized basis in January, and up 2.6% year-over-year from a revised 278,280 homes sold on an annualized basis. The statewide median price paid for a home in was $829,060 in February, up 2.8% from $806,480 one year ago. There was a 4-month supply of homes for sale in January, up from a 2.9-month supply of homes for sale last February.

The graph below lists home sales data by county in Southern California.

Have a Great Weekend!

Mortgage Rate Update | March 20, 2025

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of March 20, 2025, were as follows:

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.67%, up slightly from 6.65% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.83%, up slightly from 5.8% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Economic Update | Week Ending March 15, 2025

Weekly Economic Upate
Inflation eased in February – The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.8% in February from one year earlier, down from a year-over-year increase of 3% in January. The CPI rate had increased steadily since hitting a 3 ½ year low of 2.4% in September until February. Perhaps it will continue to tick down. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.1% year-over-year, down from a 3.3% annual rate in January. That marked the smallest yearly increase in Core CPI since April 2021. The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 3.2% from one year earlier, down sharply from a 3.7% year-over-year increase in January. The PPI gauges wholesale inflation which is considered an indicator of future consumer inflation as wholesale costs are often passed on to consumers.


Stock markets – New tariffs and threats of escalating tariffs hit stock markets hard again this week – Fearing the ramifications of a trade war with Canada, the European Union, China, and Mexico investors sold stocks again this week. While we did have a slight rebound on Friday, major indexes have lost about 5% in the last two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 41,488.19, down 3.1% from 42,801.72 last week. It is down 2.5% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,638.94, down 1.1% from 5,710.20 last week. The S&P is down 4.1% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 17,754.09, down 2.4% from 18,196.22 last week. It is down 8.1% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – Usually when stock markets drop investors rush to the safety of treasury bonds and yields fall. Additionally, when inflation drops bond yields and mortgage rates drop as well. That did not happen in the last two weeks because investors are worried that tariff costs will be passed along to consumers and inflation will reignite. The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.31%, unchanged from 4.32% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.62%, unchanged from 4.62% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of March 13, 2025, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.65%, almost unchanged from 6.63% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.8%, unchanged from 5.79% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Have a Great Weekend!

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Mortgage Rate Update | March 13, 2025

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of March 13, 2025, were as follows:

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.65%, up from 6.63% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.8%, up from 5.79% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.

Economic Update | Week Ending March 8, 2025

Weekly Economic Upate
Economic highlights this week – It was a volatile week on Wall Street, bond markets, and mortgage markets. Stocks ended the week sharply lower despite rebounding slightly on Friday. The volatility centered around the Trump Administration’s tariffs. A 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 20% tariff on imports from China went into effect on Tuesday. On Wednesday some of the tariffs, like automobiles from Canada, the U.S.’s largest trading partner were postponed for a month. There were also comments from Treasury Sectary, Scott Bessent, and others in the administration that suggested that these tariffs would not last long while comments from President Trump suggested that more tariffs are coming. All in all, it was a confusing week that left investors and corporations uncertain on what was ahead. It is difficult for businesses to plan when they do not know what the future holds for tariffs. Uncertainty caused fear and the stock markets dropped sharply this week. Bond yields and mortgage rates also fluctuated this week as investors wondered if the tariffs could cause a recession which would raise the unemployment rate, slow the economy, curtail consumer spending, and lower inflation, or if tariffs would just make everything more expensive and boost inflation.

151,000 new jobs were added in February – The Department of Labor and Statistics reported that 151,000 new jobs were added in February, up from a revised 125,000 new jobs added in January. While that was below the 160,000 economists had forecasted, the government shed 10,000 jobs, so 161,000 non-government jobs were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%, from 4% in January. It was 4.1% in December. Average hourly wages increased 4% in February from one year ago, down slightly from a 4.1% annual increase in January.

Stock markets – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 42,801.72, down 2.4% from 43,840.91 last week. It is up 0.6% year-to-date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 5,710.20, down 4.1% from 5,954.50 last week. The S&P is down 2.9% year-to-date. The Nasdaq closed the week at 18,196.22, down 3.5% from 18,847.28 last week. It is down 6.8% year-to-date.

U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.32%, up from 4.24% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.62%, up from 4.51% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of March 6, 2025, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.63%, down from 6.76% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.79%, down from 5.94% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year

Have a Great Weekend!

Mortgage Rate Update | March 6, 2025

Mortgage rates – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of March 6, 2025, were as follows:

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.63%, down from 6.76% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.79%, down from 5.94% last week.

The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.

Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Their mandate is to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S.