Mortgage rates

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of 6.85% is just five basis points lower than the same time last year, following wider swings in the past 12 months.

Overall home loan application activity fell 6.6% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, with volume resembling the frigid start to the year.

While Freddie Mac's weekly survey showed 30-year rates falling, other indicators paint a mixed picture for mortgage lenders and borrowers.

Most participants in a monthly Wolters Kluwer survey no longer think the next short-term rate reduction will be in March.

The 17.2% of mortgage borrowers nationwide with interest rates equal to, or greater than 6%, is the largest share since 2016, according to Redfin.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage continues to slip away from the 7% mark, Freddie Mac said, but experts still expect them to stay higher for longer.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration's focus with regard to bringing down borrowing costs is 10-year Treasury yields, rather than the Federal Reserve's benchmark short-term interest rate.

After repeatedly blasting Janet Yellen last year over her department's strategy for issuing federal debt, it's now up to Scott Bessent to make the call on sales of Treasuries, with bond dealers conflicted over what he'll do in a pivotal release due Wednesday.

Mortgage rates declined by one basis point this week, not enough to change the equation to bring consumers back into the housing market, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage experts were expecting the first FOMC meeting under President Trump would have more significance in the long run than short-term, with some wild cards.