{"id":497127,"date":"2026-03-26T22:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T22:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497127\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T22:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T22:08:12","slug":"us-housing-market-war-with-iran-drives-us-mortgage-rates-higher-for-fourth-straight-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497127\/","title":{"rendered":"US housing market: War with Iran drives US mortgage rates higher for fourth-straight week"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The US housing market was supposed to turn a corner this year, but economic uncertainty and a jump in mortgage rates<\/a> fueled by the US-Israeli war in Iran are complicating affordability for American homebuyers.\n <\/p>\n

\n After years of sluggish sales, economists expected 2026 to bring lower mortgage rates and more homes for sale, breathing new life into the market after home transactions fell to 30-year lows last year.\n <\/p>\n

\n But the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.38% this week, climbing for the fourth-straight week to levels not seen in more than six months, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s the largest one-week jump in mortgage rates since April 2025, when markets were rattled<\/a> due to President Donald Trump\u2019s initial tariff announcement.\n <\/p>\n

\n Higher mortgage rates due to the conflict in Iran and a weakening job market are making buyers more cautious, real estate experts told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhat we really want to see is healthy demand going into the spring selling season,\u201d Kamini Lane, CEO of Coldwell Banker, one of the country\u2019s largest real estate brokerages, told CNN. \u201cNow, there\u2019s a lot of volatility. The geopolitical landscape, coupled with the macroeconomic landscape, means a lot could change, and it could change on a dime.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Home sales were sluggish in January and February, but that may have had more to do with winter weather than weak demand, Lane said. The housing market usually gains momentum in the spring, when listings rise and buyers return.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cNobody wants to list their home when you have to shovel (snow) out your driveway,\u201d Lane said. \u201cNobody wants to go to a bunch of open houses when it\u2019s negative 10 degrees outside.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n By late February, early signs suggested home sales could pick up. Mortgage rates slipped below 6%<\/a> for the first time in more than three years \u2014 a key threshold many economists believed could lure buyers and sellers back into the market.\n <\/p>\n

\n But the optimism was short-lived. The United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran in late February, rattling global markets<\/a> and pushing mortgage rates higher as bond traders braced for renewed inflation.\n <\/p>\n

\n Mortgage rates track the US 10-year Treasury yield, which has climbed as the war in Iran has sparked concerns about higher inflation. The 10-year yield last week rose to 4.39%, its highest level since July. On Monday, it climbed as high as 4.44% before paring gains.\n <\/p>\n

\n On a $450,000 home with a 20% down payment, a buyer who locked in a 30-year fixed mortgage rate one month ago would pay about $1,120 less per year than someone securing a rate today. That amounts to more than $33,000 over the life of the loan.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think global concerns are definitely on the forefront of people\u2019s minds,\u201d Manny Maza, a real estate agent based in New Jersey, said. \u201cI think people are little bit more cognizant of their budget and their bank account.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Still, conditions overall are more favorable for buyers in 2026 compared to recent years, said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin\u2019s chief economist. Home prices are still rising, but at a slower pace than overall inflation \u2013 and wages continue to grow.\n <\/p>\n

\n And despite the recent rise in mortgage rates, they are still lower than this time last year, when rates hovered above 6.6%.\n <\/p>\n

\n Buyers have more options this year, as well. More homeowners are listing their homes after years of constrained supply: There are currently 630,000 more home sellers than buyers, according<\/a> to Redfin. That\u2019s the biggest gap in at least 10 years, Redfin said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen sellers outnumber buyers, buyers can just move on from one seller who doesn\u2019t want to negotiate with them and go down the street and negotiate with a different seller of a home,\u201d Fairweather said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Plus, home shoppers are more cautious given a faltering job market<\/a> and growing economic uncertainty, meaning fewer homes are being snapped up quickly, Fairweather said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Last week, mortgage applications fell by 10.5% from the week prior, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.\n <\/p>\n

\n Maza said he is seeing homes get fewer offers and buyers who are less willing to participate in bidding wars compared to previous years.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe uncertainty is on everyone\u2019s radar,\u201d Maza said. \u201cPeople are getting a little more hesitant. They\u2019re still touring properties, they\u2019re still submitting offers, but they\u2019re more realistic.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Buyers are also increasingly backing out of deals, rather than settling for homes that may not be the perfect fit.\n <\/p>\n

\n More than 42,000 homebuying contracts fell through in February, equal to nearly 14% of all homes that went under contract that month, according to a separate Redfin report<\/a>. That\u2019s the highest share in February since Redfin began collecting data in 2017.\n <\/p>\n

\n Still, Lane, the CEO of Coldwell Banker, remains optimistic.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of pent-up demand,\u201d Lane said. \u201cSo if we get a bit of stability in all those macroeconomic factors, including mortgage rates, you\u2019re going to see a really healthy spring selling season.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The US housing market was supposed to turn a corner this year, but economic uncertainty and a jump…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-497127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}