Images by GettyImages; Illustration by Hunter Newton/Bankrate
The Federal Reserve doesn’t set mortgage rates outright, but its decisions do play a role in the percentages lenders offer would-be homeowners. And even if the Fed keeps its benchmark rate unchanged, mortgage rates can still fluctuate. Here’s how the Fed’s monetary policy affects mortgages — and your ability to buy a home.
The Fed’s latest meeting
At its meeting on March 17-18, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to hold its benchmark interest rate steady, as it did in January. This follows three consecutive meetings at which the Fed cut rates. The FOMC also released a new round of economic projections, the first since its December meeting.
“The FOMC projections released after this meeting showed that the median member expects higher inflation in 2026. It also showed that little changed with respect to the economic growth outlook, which had been published in December,” Mike Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in a statement. “A growing number of FOMC members now expect no cuts — or at most, one — to the federal funds target this year, likely due to a more negative inflation outlook. This is a noticeable but predictable pullback from what had been published in December.”
The war in Iran has constricted the world’s oil supply and driven up prices for fuel and other goods. And the resulting inflation has increased bond yields, including that of the 10-year Treasury bond — and mortgage rates.
The FOMC’s next meeting is April 28-29. What happens then will depend on developments in inflation and employment data — as well as geopolitical events.
How does a Fed rate cut affect mortgages?
The U.S. Federal Reserve sets borrowing costs for shorter-term loans by changing its federal funds rate. This rate dictates how much banks pay each other in interest to borrow funds from their reserves, kept at the Fed on an overnight basis. While this rate isn’t the same as the rate you’ll pay for your mortgage, they are related. As the cost for banks to borrow increases or decreases, the cost for you to borrow tends to follow suit. When the Fed cuts the federal funds rate, it generally encourages lenders to lower interest rates across the board. Similarly, if the Fed raises rates, it’s more likely lenders will do the same.
For example, in 2022 and 2023, the Fed increased this key interest rate to help calm inflation, hikes that made it more costly for Americans to borrow money or take out credit. However, sometimes mortgage rates seem to ignore the Fed. While the Fed cut the rate three times at the end of 2024, mortgage rates remained relatively high, and even increased.
That’s because fixed-rate mortgages — the most popular type of home loan — don’t mirror the federal funds rate; they track the 10-year Treasury yield. When that goes up or down, fixed-rate mortgage rates do, too.
Again, the two rates aren’t exactly the same. Your mortgage rate will be higher than the 10-year yield by an amount known as a spread or margin. This spread widens as lenders factor in more risk.
Typically, the gap between the 10-year Treasury yield and the 30-year fixed mortgage rate spans 1.5 to 2 percentage points. For much of 2023 and 2024, the spread grew to 3 percentage points, making mortgages more expensive. The main reason for this was added risk in the marketplace due to rapidly rising rates.
Mortgage rates also move due to:
- Inflation: Generally, when inflation picks up, so do fixed interest rates.
- Supply and demand: When mortgage lenders have too much business, they raise rates to decrease demand. When business is light, they tend to cut rates to attract more customers.
- The secondary mortgage market, where investors buy mortgage-backed securities: Most lenders bundle the mortgages they underwrite and sell them in the secondary marketplace to investors. When investor demand is high, mortgage rates trend a little lower. When investors aren’t buying, rates might rise to attract them.
The Fed also buys and sells debt securities in the financial marketplace. This helps support the flow of credit, which tends to have an overarching impact on mortgage rates.
How the Fed affects adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs)
While fixed-rate mortgages dominate the U.S. residential financing scene, some Americans prefer adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), which have variable interest rates that reset annually or semi-annually. The Fed’s moves can affect them more directly.
More specifically, the rates on ARMs are often tied to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR. Because the Fed’s rate decisions serve as a basis for savings instruments, raising or lowering the fed funds rate can push the SOFR up or down. ARM rates, in turn, go up or down when the rate resets.
All this means that, if the federal funds rate goes up, your ARM rate will increase at the next adjustment.
Key Fed moves that have impacted mortgage rates
In response to the economic effects of COVID-19, the Fed cut the federal funds rate to near zero. While 30-year mortgage rates didn’t fall to the same degree, they did reach historic lows. The average 30-year mortgage rate bottomed out at 2.97 percent in February 2021, according to Bankrate data.
The Fed raised their rate consistently starting in March 2022, as inflation picked up and the U.S. emerged from the pandemic. The federal funds rate reached 5.33 percent in August 2023, where it stayed until the end of September 2024. As the funds rate grew, so did mortgage rates, with the 30-year rate breaching 8 percent in October 2023.
Though the Fed cut its rate three times at the end of 2024 — at its September, October and December meetings, a total of 100 basis points — mortgage rates remained elevated, often averaging above 7 percent.
For much of the first half of 2025, rates hovered between 6.8 percent and 7.1 percent. Then the Fed made three cuts in September, October and December, totaling 75 basis points. Rates finished the year around the 6.25% mark. In February 2026, rates dipped as low as 6.09%, before rising up above 6.25% in March.
What to consider if you’re getting a mortgage
Regardless of current Federal Reserve policy, the best ways to get the lowest possible mortgage rate are to maintain solid credit, keep your debt low, make as large a down payment as you can and shop around for loan offers.
When comparing rates, look at the APR, not just the interest rate — some lenders advertise low interest rates, but offset them with high fees. Knowing your APR will help you understand your true, all-in cost.
More on the Federal Reserve
Why we ask for feedback
Your feedback helps us improve our content and services. It takes less than a minute to
complete.
Your responses are anonymous and will only be used for improving our website.
Help us improve our content
Read the full article here
