US Mortgage Rates Hit 7.49%, Highest Since 2023

Is this a healthy return to normal that cools prices for buyers or a deep freeze locking families out of ownership?

Published 1 day ago

US Mortgage Rates Hit 7.49%, Highest Since 2023

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Above: Homes in Hercules, California, on March 25, 2025. Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

Mortgage rates around 7% are just a return to the long-run normal — the cheap-money era was the real oddity. Pricier borrowing pushes speculators and second-home buyers out, cools price growth and lets wages catch up. Fading lock-in means more listings, more choices and real negotiating power for regular buyers.

Morning Star The Wall Street Journal

Narrative B

Rates stuck near 7% price out buyers, freeze sales and starve builders of construction loans, squeezing supply even tighter. Every move higher adds hundreds a month to payments, sidelining first-timers and pushing more families into permanent renting. The only winners are landlords, while sellers forfeit equity and the market stays frozen.

Grant Cardone on X The Michigan Independent