This week, the average interest rate for 30-year mortgages in the U.S. is stable, not far from the highest level this year, but below where it was a year ago.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that interest rates hit 6.76% for the second consecutive week. A year ago, the interest rate averaged 7.09%.

The borrowing fees for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages are popular, and homeowners refinance their home loans. From 5.92% last week to 5.89%. Freddie Mac said that's down from 6.38% a year ago.

Mortgage rates are affected by several factors, including global demand for U.S. Treasury bonds, Fed’s interest rate policy decisions, and bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation.

After climbing above 7% in mid-January, the average interest rate on 30-year mortgages is still above 6.62%, just four weeks ago. It then soared 6.8% over the next two weeks and dropped it to 6.76% last week.

Recent fluctuations in mortgage rates reflect volatility in treasury yields over 10 years, and lenders use it as a guide to priced home loans.

It climbed to around 4.8% in mid-January, with the yield mostly falling to 4.8% and soaring to 4.5% last month, amid investors' anxiety about the sell-off of government bonds triggered by a trade war against the Trump administration.

The 10-year fiscal yield for trading at noon Thursday was 4.33%, up from 4.26% late Wednesday.

For many potential home buyers, mortgage rates and rising house prices remain a barrier to affordability, a key reason for the spring home buying season, with home inventory on the market rising sharply even since last year. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in March, the biggest monthly decline since November 2022.

A new Redfin report shows that the median monthly housing payments were $2,868 for the four weeks ending May 4, an all-time high.

Economists expect mortgage rates to remain volatile over the coming months, although they usually require the average interest rate on 30-year mortgages to stay above 6.5% this year.

On Wednesday, the Fed only left a major benefit as expected, even though it noted that the risk of higher unemployment and inflation increased. Although the Fed does not set home loan rates, its actions may affect the trajectory of mortgage rates.

“Looking forward, the Fed’s approach to seeing may keep mortgage rates at a rate of 6% higher in the near term unless there is a significant policy development or economic shift, such as the significant outcomes planned for this weekend in the upcoming U.S.-China trade negotiations,” said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com.