In an aerial view, two-story single-family homes line neighborhood streets on January 13, 2026 in Thousand Oaks, California.
Kevin Carter | fake images
Mortgage rates rose to their highest level since September on Friday as bond yields rose due to the war in Iran.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed loan reached 6.41%, according to Mortgage News Daily. This is the highest rate since the first week of September, but still below the 6.78% recorded at the same time last year.
Mortgage rates loosely track the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which rose again on Friday.
“This is counterintuitive to those who expect bonds to serve as a safe haven in times of uncertainty, but when war has a direct impact on inflation expectations, it is more than enough to offset any safe haven benefits that might otherwise be seen,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily.
Even as rates began to rise last week, mortgage demand from home buyers increased, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, but this week's new increase could put a damper on the spring season, which is already plagued by other major headwinds.
Lennar, one of the country's largest homebuilders, reported disappointing first-quarter earnings. Its chief executive, Stuart Miller, described headwinds for the broader market as “high mortgage rates, limited affordability, cautious consumer sentiment and geopolitical uncertainty, especially now including the recent conflict in Iran.”
Just two weeks ago, rates had fallen to a multi-year low, briefly touching 5.99%. Now, all the savings from those lower rates are gone.
For someone buying a $400,000 home, around the national average, with a 20% down payment on a 30-year fixed mortgage, the monthly payment is now about $115 more than it would have been two weeks ago.
