Not surprisingly, and as tipped here last week, US mortgage rates posted another sharp increase on the back of rising Treasury yields.

And, as expected, the highest financing costs of 2026 undercut home-buying activity amid what might’ve otherwise been a decent enough (under the circumstances) spring buying season.

Wednesday’s MBA update showed the average 30-year fixed hit 6.56%, up 10bps on the week.

As the figure shows, rates are now the highest since late-March having risen more than 20bps in the last four weeks alone.

The MBA’s purchase gauge fell 4% from the prior week, 5% on an unadjusted basis. It was up around 8% versus the same week a year ago, but that’s not saying much.

MBA VP Joel Kan blamed “ongoing concerns around inflation from higher fuel costs” and jitters “over global public debt” for driving up Treasury yields, which in turn knocked into mortgage rates.

Note that Mortgage News Daily’s high-frequency series showed the top-tier 30-year fixed rate at 6.75% on Tuesday, when US long bond yields saw their highest levels since 2007.

6.75%, MDN remarked, counted as the highest since last summer, and as the figure shows, the implied increase over the course of the war counts as the fastest rate spike in years.

“Overall applications were down to the lowest level in five weeks as purchase borrowers pulled back across conventional and government loan types,” the MBA’s Kan went on.

This is the sort of thing that costs political parties elections. Fortunately for the GOP, the war in Iran will resolve “very quickly and in a very nice manner.”