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Mortgage rate news this week - May 26, 2026
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Mortgage rates hit 9-month high as war continues
The average rate for 30-year home loans jumped to 6.60% last week, according to Bankrate's national survey of lenders. That was up from 6.46% the previous week. Rates on 15-year loans and jumbo mortgages also rose.
“The bond market is whipsawing on every headline, and even the analytical community can't fully explain [last week’s] bond sell-off, which tells you everything about how headline-driven and fragile this market is right now,” says Nicole Rueth, senior vice president at CrossCountry Mortgage. “Until there is a verified peace treaty and oil prices respond in a sustained way, any dip in rates is a pause, not a trend.”
The main culprit is the war in Iran and its effect on oil and gas prices. Gas prices have an outsized impact on consumer prices, and energy costs pushed April’s consumer price index up 3.8% from a year ago. That was the highest level in three years, and it’s well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. This means the Fed is less likely to cut its benchmark rate at its next meeting — and inflation puts its own upward pressure on mortgage rates.
"Mortgage rates have eased back into the mid-6% range after briefly hitting nine-month highs, supported by renewed optimism around a potential Middle East ceasefire,” says Jeff DerGurahian, loanDepot’s head economist. “But with geopolitical tensions still front and center and inflation expectations starting to pick back up, the outlook remains uncertain. Until there’s more clarity, rates are likely to stay sensitive to headlines, with the direction from here tied closely to how events unfold overseas."
Amid uncertainty in the broader economy, the spring homebuying season has been tepid. In April, home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million, the National Association of Realtors reported. That rate was up slightly from March, but it was unchanged from April 2025.
To put that pace of sales in context, Americans typically bought 5 million homes a year before the pandemic, and annual volumes spiked to 6 million during the Covid housing boom.
A spring rebound for the housing market is looking like a long shot. Mortgage rates above 6.5% act as a drag on home sales, and rates seem unlikely to fall below 6% in the near future.
“While consumers have been resetting expectations about borrowing costs, with rates moving above 6.5% and no signals that they will ease, the outlook for the late spring housing market is darkening,” says Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, a listing service covering the Mid-Atlantic region.
Should rising mortgage rates affect your homebuying plans? Probably not. You’ll own your home for years, while mortgage rates bounce around continually. Also, keep in mind that housing markets in the U.S. diverge widely. Texas and Florida are now buyer’s markets, but parts of the Northeast and Midwest remain strong seller’s markets. And for many borrowers, the possibility of a future refinance can ease your mind — should mortgage rates plunge in a year or two, you can always trade in your loan for one with a lower rate.
