When investors buy more Treasury bonds, their yields typically fall. Lenders often use these Treasury rates as a benchmark for setting mortgage rates. Mortgage rates tend to follow suit when Treasury rates drop due to global events — potentially making borrowing more affordable.

Today’s interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5.38%, which is 0.13 percentage points higher than yesterday. The monthly payment for a $250,000 mortgage with a 15-year term and a fixed interest rate of 4.75% would be $1,944.48. The payment for the same loan with a 5.75% interest rate would be $2,076.03.

A crisis of unaffordability has held the housing market hostage. That situation is not likely to change anytime soon, according to Fannie Mae’s chief economist — and there’s one culprit.

Mortgage rates climbed slightly this week, with the average for both 30- and 15-year fixed-rate notes rising as the housing market remains largely stalled.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates, then standard 30-year mortgage rates went up. It’s a warning that lower rates from here are not a foregone conclusion.

Those waiting for more significant cuts to Britain’s Bank Rate are likely to see some more movement by the end of the year. So far just one cut has been issued by the Bank of England, which took place in August.

First, interest rates were cut to near zero during the early days of the pandemic—only to then rapidly rise above 5% to combat the highest inflation in a generation. Now, with inflation waning and the U.