But it is one week before the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates further, Nadia Evangelou, National Association of REALTORS® senior economist and director of forecasting, says on the association’s blog. The Fed’s key rate does not have a direct impact on mortgage rates but it does often influence them.

Borrowers may be getting nervous about how high rates could go. Higher rates already are forcing them to increase their budgets. Current buyers need to spend about $25,000 more to buy a comparable home this year than a year ago, Evangelou says.

“The combination of swift home price growth and the fastest mortgage rate increase in over 40 years is finally affecting purchase demand,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Home buyers navigating the current environment are coping in a variety of ways, including switching to adjustable-rate mortgages, moving away from expensive coastal cities, and looking to more affordable suburbs. We expect the decline in demand to soften home price growth to a more sustainable pace later this year."

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages for the week ending April 28:

*30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 5.10%, with an average 0.8 point, falling from last week’s 5.11% average. Last year at this time, they averaged 2.98%.

*15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.40%, with an average 0.9 point, increasing from last week’s 4.38% average. A year ago, they averaged 2.31%.

Source: Freddie Mac and “Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates, April 28, 2022,” National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog