The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate drew closer this week to 6.5%, pushing up borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers.
The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.49% from 6.43% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.72%.
When mortgage rates rise they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, reducing their purchasing power.
Mortgage rates have remained elevated after the average rate on a 30-year loan briefly dropped below 6% in February for the first time since late 2022. It then climbed in May to its highest level in nine months. The uptick in mortgage rates has weighed on home sales this year.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate increased to 5.82% from 5.79% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.86%, Freddie Mac said.
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.
Expectations of hotter inflation amid higher crude oil prices have pushed up long-term bond yields relative to where they were before the war with Iran began in late February, causing mortgage rates to trend higher.
The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.55% at midday Thursday on the bond market, up from 4.49% a week ago. It was just 3.97% in late February, before the war broke out.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now back to where it was two weeks ago.
While average long-term mortgage rates remain lower than they were at this time last year, uncertainty about their trajectory amid the war with Iran has kept many would-be homebuyers on the sideline.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes declined in the first three months of the year compared to a year earlier, extending a nationwide housing slump that dates back to 2022 when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows.
Through the first half of this year, seasonally adjusted sales of existing U.S. homes are up only 0.7% compared to the same period in 2025, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Still, sales of existing U.S. homes continue to hovering close to a 4-million annual pace, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2-million.
A under contract for home sale sign is seen outside of a home in Niles, Ill., Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Democrats in Maine began jockeying Thursday to become the new candidate for a pivotal U.S. Senate seat after progressive nominee Graham Platner announced he will withdraw from the race after a sexual assault allegation.
Democrats need to pick a candidate to replace Platner on the ballot by July 27, according to state law. Whoever is selected will have less than four months before facing longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. Potential candidates had already been teasing their interest before Platner, who denies the allegation, announced he intends to drop out. But a growing number began formally launching their campaigns Thursday.
The Maine Democratic Party has said it will hold a nominating convention to choose the replacement. The party says the convention will involve hundreds of delegates from across the state, but how and when that’ll take place remains unknown.
Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats are desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Collins while President Donald Trump is broadly unpopular.
These are some of the people who have shown interest in the Maine Senate race:
Jackson is Maine’s former state Senate president. He unsuccessfully ran to be the Democratic nominee for governor earlier this year with the backing of Platner and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Shortly after Platner said he would quit the Senate race, Jackson launched his campaign, arguing that Mainers want “a progressive fighter." Our Revolution, the organization founded by Sanders, has since said it would back Jackson, 58.
Jackson released a statement with dozens of endorsements, many from current and former state and local officials, on Thursday.
Shah, former director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced Thursday he was vying to be the next Democratic Senate candidate. He came in second in this year’s Maine Democratic governor's primary and was seen as more of a moderate candidate compared with Jackson while running for governor. "To the movement that supported Graham Platner, my message is this: you have a place in this campaign," Shah, 49, said in a statement.
The co-founder of Maine Beer Company, Kleban also confirmed his candidacy on Wednesday after Platner's announcement. Kleban briefly entered the Senate race last year before dropping out when Gov. Janet Mills announced her candidacy. Kleban, 49, endorsed Mills, who later dropped out of the Democratic primary.
“I'm ready to fight for Mainers and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington,” Kleban said.
Bellows is Maine's secretary of state. She hasn't announced she'll run for Senate but she has expressed interest in the job.
This wouldn't be her first time running for political office. Bellows, 51, placed fourth in the state’s Democratic governor's primary in June. And in 2014, Bellows ran against Collins as the Senate Democratic nominee and lost in a landslide.
Wood, 36, initially attempted to run in the Maine Democratic Senate primary last year but dropped out to run in the state's 2nd District. He lost that race, coming in third to state Auditor Matt Dunlap. He's since said he's interested in running for the Senate again, and announced as of Thursday.
“To beat Susan Collins, we need a candidate who can provide a true contrast and run an unapologetically progressive campaign: Passing Medicare for All. Stopping ICE terrorizing our streets,” Wood wrote on social media on Tuesday.
Loud filed paperwork to run for the Senate seat earlier this week. The 29-year-old social worker also ran in the state's 2nd District Democratic primary, but came in last during the state's first round of ranked choice voting.
Geiger, a previous Platner supporter and a state Democratic lawmaker, is another potential candidate. She hasn't announced her candidacy, but in an interview with MS NOW on Wednesday, Geiger, 70, said she would hire Platner's staff, whom she described as “deeply impassioned and confident young people.”
Kruesi reported from Providence, R.I.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.
FILE - Voter cast their Maine primary ballots at the Civic Center, June 9, 2026, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
FILE - Dan Kleban, a co-owner of the Maine Beer Company, poses in the company's tasting room in Freeport, Maine, May 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
FILE - Senate President Troy Jackson speaks at a news conference, Jan. 17, 2023, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
FILE - Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows speaks at a news conference, Oct. 6, 2025 at the Maine State House in Augusta. (AP Photo/Patrick Whittle, File)
FILE - Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks at a news conference, April 28, 2020, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
