Mortgage rates climb to highest level in 9 months [View all]

Source: CNN Business

Updated May 21, 2026, 12:32 PM ET
PUBLISHED May 21, 2026, 12:00 PM ET


Turmoil in the bond market, fueled by the war with Iran, is sending US mortgage rates higher and threatening to make buying a home even more expensive.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.51% this week, reaching the highest level since August of last year, according to Freddie Mac.

It was the sharpest weekly increase in mortgage rates since April 2025, when the bond market suffered similar stress after President Donald Trump first announced his plans for sweeping, historic tariff increases on nearly all countries.

Mortgage rates loosely track the US 10-year Treasury yield, which is closely tied to inflation expectations. The yield, which moves in the opposite direction to bond prices, climbed sharply this week to the highest level in more than a year as investors grew increasingly worried that rising oil prices and the war in Iran could cause persistently higher inflation.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/21/economy/mortgage-rates