WASHINGTON, April 9, 2026, 3:09 PM (EDT).
- The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate slid to 6.37%, down from 6.46%, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year fixed edged lower as well, now sitting at 5.74%.
- Purchase applications edged up 1% for the week, though they remained 7% lower than the same week last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinance activity slipped 3%.
- Mortgage News Daily’s daily index showed the 30-year fixed at 6.38% Thursday, as the 10-year Treasury hovered close to 4.27%.
Mortgage rates in the U.S. slipped on Thursday, snapping a five-week streak of increases and offering homebuyers a little relief after rates pushed higher through March. According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed dropped by 9 basis points to 6.37%. The 15-year fixed rate also ticked down, landing at 5.74%.
This shift comes right as the spring homebuying season heats up, with higher rates beginning to weigh on buyers. According to MBA, purchase applications ticked up 1% last week versus the week before, but they’re still down 7% compared to this time last year. Refinance applications slipped 3%.
Freddie Mac’s weekly survey captures average rates for conventional, conforming purchase loans, measuring offers from the previous Thursday through Wednesday—think big-picture, not the day’s quoted rate. Chief economist Sam Khater said the dip might set up a “more favorable spring homebuying season than last year.” Freddie Mac
Other popular benchmarks landed close by, but not quite matching each other. Mortgage News Daily’s daily read posted 6.38% on Thursday. The MBA’s weekly applications survey, meanwhile, listed the average contract rate for conforming 30-year loans at 6.51% for the week ending April 3. That discrepancy? It comes down to things like timing and the types of borrowers more than any shift in market sentiment.
It’s still a shaky setup out there. Mortgage News Daily pegged the 10-year Treasury close to 4.27% on Thursday. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — the Fed’s go-to inflation read — climbed 0.4% in February, up 2.8% year-over-year. Core PCE came in at 3.0%. That’s a mix Reuters flagged as likely to keep the Fed wary on rates.
That’s a big reason the bounce has been underwhelming. As Matthew Graham from Mortgage News Daily put it, the “overall improvement is smaller than most borrowers would expect,” despite the friendlier mood in bond markets this week. Mortgage News Daily
Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at MBA, said mortgage applications took another hit last week as higher rates and economic jitters persisted. Still, he flagged some resilience: FHA-backed 30-year rates came in at 6.22%—roughly 30 basis points under the conventional average—and FHA purchase applications climbed 5% for the week.
The threat of another rate hike still lingers. Reuters flagged ongoing uncertainty around the Middle East ceasefire, calling it fragile. Oxford Economics’ Nancy Vanden Houten echoed that, warning it’s “too soon to assume” the ceasefire will last; economists in the same piece predicted Friday’s CPI should land near 3.3% year-on-year. Any surprise there, and Treasury yields along with mortgage rates could climb again. Reuters
Thursday’s drop appears to be more of a breather than a real shift. Freddie Mac’s average slipped under last week’s 6.46%, though daily rates are hanging close to 6.4%. Purchase demand hasn’t picked up in any meaningful way.
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