US mortgage rates climb to 6.66%, hitting highest level in a year

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the US hit 6.66% for the week ending July 30, 2026, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s up from 6.58% the prior week and marks the highest level since August 2025. The numbers paint a consistent picture Freddie Mac’s 6.66% reading wasn’t an outlier. The Mortgage Bankers Association pegged rates even higher, at 6.76% for the week ending July 24, 2026. Both figures represent the steepest borrowing costs homebuyers have faced in roughly a year. Mortgage rates have hovered in the mid-to-upper 6% range for most of 2026. That follows a brief dip from peaks seen in 2025, which gave some buyers a window of slightly cheaper financing. The culprits are familiar ones: rising Treasury yields and inflation that refuses to fully cooperate. Energy prices, in particular, have been a persistent thorn in the Fed’s side, keeping the broader inflation picture muddier than policymakers would like. Forecasting bodies including Fannie Mae have projected rates could eventually settle near 6.4%. Why crypto traders should care about mortgage rates When mortgage rates climb, it’s typically because Treasury yields are rising. And when Tr...