UBS managing director and senior portfolio manager Jason Katz joins 'Varney & Co.' to give his view on the markets in the second half of the year.
Housing prices rose this week to its highest level in a year, home buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed an average rating on the bench. 30 year fixed mortgage rose to 6.55% – the highest rate since August 2025 – from last week's reading of 6.49%.
The average rate for a 30-year mortgage was 6.75% last year.
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The average 30-year mortgage rate rose to 6.55% this week, according to Freddie Mac. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
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“Demand for homebuyers has slowed recently, but purchasing power is attractive and home prices continue to rise, so the backdrop for homebuyers is improving,” said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.93% from 5.82% read last week.
Mortgage rates are affected by several factors, including the Federal Reserve and geopolitics. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mortgage rates are affected by several factors, including the Federal Reserve and geopolitics. Although mortgage rates are not directly affected by the Fed's interest rate decisions, they closely track the 10-year Treasury yield. The 10-year yield rose to 4.57% as of Thursday afternoon.
“June's CPI data showed core inflation cooling to 3.5% and core inflation easing to 2.6%, both below expectations and a welcome sign for rate watchers,” said Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones. “However, the conflict in the Middle East flared up again this week, forcing oil prices and Treasury yields higher. Since bond yields tend to track the 10-year Treasury yield, they are likely to follow suit as long as oil markets remain buoyant.”
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The latest mortgage data comes as conditions in the housing market have improved somewhat for buyers, many of whom have been absent as strong foreclosures have supported higher rates. home values and mortgage rates have held relatively tight.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.93% from 5.82% read last week. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Realtor.com recently released its 2026 mid-year update housing market The forecast estimates that home price growth will slow to 1.2% this year, a slower rate than the first forecast for the year and below the current pace of inflation. That means home prices will effectively fall in real, inflation-adjusted terms.
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