In the first week of January, mortgage rates averaged around 6.62%, already elevated compared to historical norms. By late March, they had surged to 6.94%, and by the first week of May, they had reached their peak for the year at 7.22% — up by about 0.6% from the start of 2024.

Sales of previously owned homes in the United States fell sharply in August, despite mortgage rates plummeting that month. But much more housing demand will likely be unleashed onto the market after the Federal Reserve finally cut interest rates this week for the first time in four years — and signaled more rate cuts by year’s end.

Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in two years a day after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.09% as of Sept. 19, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday.