Mortgage Rates Surge, Impacting Spring Homebuying

0:00It's April 4th. This is U.S. News Today, your AI-powered source for national news. The war with Iran is spiking mortgage rates and messing with the spring home buying rush. Just last week of February, the average 30-year fixed rate dipped under 6 percent, the lowest in over 3.5 years. Now it's jumped to 6.46 percent, the highest in nearly 7 months, slowing down applications big time. Meanwhile, the market's tilting toward buyers in most spots. Active listings shot up nearly 8 percent nationwide from last February, with big jumps in places like Seattle, Houston, and Denver. Medium prices dropped year over year and over half the top 50 metro areas, including nearly 9 percent drops in Austin and Memphis. Buyers are caching in on the leverage. Take Anne King in Fort Worth, she snagged a ranch house for 10,000 under asking, got 5,000 for closing costs, and 12,000 more. For repairs, sellers like the Sanders and Kansas City are slashing prices from 535,000

1:01to 525,000, but still, seeing zero offers after open houses. Experts say the uncertainties hitting hard with a sputtering job market adding fuel. Joel Burner from Realtor.com notes buyers might hold off, waiting out rising rates and economic jitters during peak season. If you can swing it now, lock in those deals before competition heat separates could ease later for a refi, but this one no favors the bold shopper. Watching the bigger economic picture.