Mortgage rates ease as spring homebuying season gains momentum

Mortgage rates slipped just enough to matter, but not enough to change the bigger calculation for borrowers weighing a spring purchase or a refinance. Freddie Mac said the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.37% as of April 9, down from 6.46% the prior week and 6.62% a year earlier, while the 15-year fixed averaged 5.74%.

The weekly drop was small, yet it still adds up. On every $100,000 borrowed, the move from 6.46% to 6.37% cuts principal-and-interest payments by about $5.90 a month, which is modest but meaningful for buyers stretching to meet a lender’s debt-to-income test or trying to stay under a hard monthly budget. Freddie Mac also noted that PMMS is released weekly on Thursdays at 12 p.m. ET and is based on loan applications submitted through Loan Product Advisor from lenders nationwide.

Refinance shoppers are facing a different market. Bankrate put the national average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate at 6.40% on April 14 and the average 30-year fixed refinance rate at 6.70%, while Forbes Advisor put the 30-year fixed refinance APR at 6.43%. Those spreads show why headline averages can mislead: credit score, loan size, loan type and geography can move an offer well above or below the national number. Borrowers with strong equity and top-tier credit are more likely to see the best quotes; borrowers with thinner files may not.

The broader housing backdrop has improved, even after a recent rate rebound. Intercontinental Exchange said mortgage rates bottomed near 5.95% early in 2026, then climbed about 40 basis points, pulling roughly 4% of buying power out of the market. Still, ICE said 99 of the 100 largest U.S. housing markets were more affordable than a year earlier, March inventory rose 8% from a year ago and active listings remained 11% below typical 2017-2019 levels. ICE also said the number of borrowers considered in the money for a refinance had fallen roughly 60% from recent highs. For buyers close to closing, locking now makes sense because the market has already shown it can reverse quickly; borrowers who have time and a strong credit profile can wait for a better quote, but only with a clear plan to act if rates turn back up.