Mortgages Rates Are Way Down. How Fed Rate Cuts Could Change the Picture.

The Federal Reserve’s anticipated interest-rate cut is old news for mortgage rates, which have retreated from 2024 highs in anticipation. Mortgage rates, at a recent 6.2%, have dropped a percentage point since late spring on expectations for a September rate cut, according to Freddie Mac data released last week. What happens next is likely to depend on what the central bank has to say about the outlook “Mortgage rates, having priced in an aggressive cutting cycle into 2025, are unlikely to move much until we hear from the Fed,” brokerage Redfin wrote in a release last week.