Homebuyers and owners looking to refinance are often encouraged to monitor the mortgage interest rate climate daily. That’s because multiple factors influence mortgage rates, causing them to rise or fall each day. Unfortunately for borrowers in recent months, however, those factors have combined to result in a substantial increase in rates both for purchase and refinance loans. While the Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark interest rate on hold so far in 2026, inflation surged in March and April on the back of a rising oil price, overseas conflicts and geopolitical uncertainty. That all combined to drive mortgage rates up.

 

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