The war in the Middle East continued to weigh on the U.S. housing market, as mortgage rates climbed for the fourth week in a row, squeezing Americans already struggling with high housing costs.
The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rate climbed to 6.38 percent, according to the mortgage-financing giant Freddie Mac, up from 6.22 percent the week before and the highest level since the first week of September.
That rate is still significantly below its peak of 7.79 percent in October 2023. Until the war started, rates had been gradually declining, falling below 6 percent in the last week of February. The drop in rates had offered hope that more prospective buyers would enter the market, but rates have since marched steadily higher.
Mortgage rates are influenced by the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which has risen as the war deepens uncertainty for investors. President Trump has said that Iran is willing to negotiate a possible cease-fire, a proposal that the Iranian government has publicly dismissed.
The war is expected to slow the construction of new homes this year, according to a report from Oxford Economics, a global advisory firm. “Unless the war is brought to a quick end, higher mortgage rates and softer labor market conditions will weigh on residential spending this year,” Nancy Vanden Houten, the firm’s lead U.S. economist, wrote in the report.
Gregory Schmidt is a Times business editor overseeing coverage of the European economy. He is based in London.
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