Today's Mortgage Rates - 04/11/2025

Tariff Impact On Rates Coming Up

Mortgage rates were flat to slightly lower this week, but roiling markets are kicking them higher again.

Freddie Mac reported today that the average offered interest rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) declined by just two basis points (0.02%) this week, settling back to 6.62%. While it is the lowest average since mid-December, the reality is that this rate has barely budged over the last six weeks, holding in a five basis point range over that time. This seem poised to change.

Average offered rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages failed to move at all this week, holding steady at 5.82%, and has held in a nine basis point range since the start of March.

A 5/1 ARM might offer a homebuyer a lower-cost alternative to a long-term fixed-rate mortgage, but the difference in rate between 30-year FRMs and 5-year hybrid ARMs widened a little this week. The Mortgage Bankers Association said that the initial fixed interest rate on a hybrid 5-year ARM declined by eleven basis points (0.11%), moving down to 5.93%. This expanded the gap in rate compared to a 30-year FRM to sixty-nine basis points (0.69%). On a $300,000 mortgage, a borrower using this ARM would see a $135 lower payment per month and would save more than $10,000 in interest over the first five years of the loan.

While mortgage rates barely moved this week, that calmness hid very volatile financial market conditions. After last week's announcements of the imposition of substantial and widespread tariffs, equity markets sold off again, and this time were followed by bond markets. After the announcement of the imposition of new levies on goods, the yield on the influential 10-year Treasury declined measurably, closing last Friday at just slightly above 4%. This yield wandered lower on Monday, then stormed higher, hitting about 4.48% on an intra-day basis by Wednesday as China announced retaliatory tariffs.

While it might not be correct to say that "cooler heads prevailed", President Trump then put a 90-day "pause" on the imposition of levies against most countries in order to allow time to negotiate deals. China's announcement of retaliation was met in kind by another salvo from President Trump, who excluded China from the pause. While stock markets were elated on Wednesday, bond investors continue to cast a wary eye on the situation, and bond yield have only partly retraced their upward steps as we write this, with the improvement probably more due to a solid auction of new debt than any relief regarding trade policy.

What does it mean for mortgage rates? The run-up in the Treasury yield was considerable, and even with the partial fall back remains substantially higher now than where it was at the end of last week. The upward move erased what should have been a considerable decline in mortgage rates this week, and strongly suggests an upward move is happening right now. As such. look for somewhat higher mortgage rates in the market over the next few days.

Each week in HSH's MarketTrends newsletter, we track and discuss economic conditions that affect mortgage rates and their impact on housing markets and consumers. Read the most recent edition of MarketTrends or subscribe for email delivery.