White House marks mortgage rates falling below 6 percent

The White House highlighted that the national 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell below 6 percent this week, and Freddie Mac reported the rate at 5.98 percent on Feb. 26.

The White House celebrated this week after the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell below 6 percent for the first time since 2022. The administration framed the change as a policy success for President Donald Trump, who has pushed for lower borrowing costs. Mortgage rates rose during the Federal Reserve's rate-hiking campaign beginning in 2022, and the Fed cut its key rate toward the end of last year, after which rates began to edge lower week by week. Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed rate at 5.98 percent on Feb. 26. Key facts: - The White House said the decline is part of the administration's effort to make housing more affordable, according to a post by press secretary Karoline Leavitt on X. - Freddie Mac reported the national 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 5.98 percent on Feb. 26, down from 6.01 percent one week earlier and 6.76 percent a year earlier. - The Federal Reserve’s earlier rate-hiking campaign pushed mortgage rates higher from 2022 through 2025, and a later Fed rate cut contributed to the recent slide. - Pending home sales were reported down 5.1 percent year-over-year in the four weeks ending Feb. 8, according to Redfin data. - The median sale price of a U.S. home was reported up 1.2 percent year-over-year to $378,725. Summary: The fall below 6 percent represents a return to lower mortgage borrowing costs after several years of higher rates and may influence buyer and seller behavior as the spring season approaches. Economists cited market moves in Treasury yields and some policy and legal developments as factors behind the recent decline. Whether this shift produces sustained improvement in overall housing affordability is undetermined at this time.