The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.06% in the second week of January 2026, according to Freddie Mac data. The last time mortgage rates were this low was in September 2022, analysts said.
Experts hope that the decline could help ease the housing market's stagnation.
“It's clear that housing market activity is improving and is poised for a solid spring selling season,” said Sam Hatter, chief economist at Freddie Mac.
At this time last year, the average 30-year fixed rate was 7.04%. A buyer who purchased a $450,000 home with a 20% down payment at that rate would have a monthly payment of about $2,405. At today's average interest rate of 6.06%, those payments would fall to roughly $2,172 — a savings of about $230 per month, or nearly $84,000 over the life of a 30-year loan.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump called for $200 billion in mortgage bond purchases to try to lower borrowing costs.
“This will lower mortgage rates, lower monthly payments, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable,“ Trump wrote in a social media post last week.
These purchases may already be putting moderate downward pressure on mortgage rates, at least in the short term, said Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
There are signs that the so-called “lockdown effect,” a defining feature of the housing market over the past few years, is also starting to fade. For years, homeowners have been reluctant to sell, unwilling to give up the ultra-low mortgage rates they secured at the start of the pandemic.
That dynamic is starting to change. The share of homeowners with mortgage rates above 6% has now surpassed those with ultra-low rates below 3%, according to a Realtor.com analysis of outstanding mortgage data, suggesting that fewer homeowners have a strong incentive to stay in their homes.
Housing activity is starting to pick up after years of stagnation. Existing home sales jumped 5.1% in December from the previous month, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors. It marked the fourth straight month of gains, the longest streak since mid-2020.
The bigger market move hasn’t translated into lower prices, however. According to the NAR, the median sales price of existing homes was $405,400 in December, the 30th consecutive month of annual price increases.
A more active housing market may not solve the affordability crisis on its own, but it has broader economic benefits, said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.
“People who have felt trapped in their homes may be turning down job opportunities, they may be postponing marriage, they may be postponing having a baby, all because they feel trapped in a home that doesn't meet their needs,“ she said. “If more people move, it would help the economy and people's quality of life – even if it does not help solve the problem of housing affordability.“
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be found at imot.bg