Mortgage Rates Start Week at New 9 Month High, But Just Barely

Mortgage rates hit their highest levels in more than 9 months at the end of last week. Now today, they've edged slightly higher yet again with the average top tier 30yr fixed rate at 6.68% versus 6.65% on Friday. This wasn't necessarily destined to be the case today. In fact the day began with the average lender unchanged. But the underlying market remains highly attuned to breaking news on the Iran war. Earlier in the day, that news was helpful for rates as it spoke to the possibility of compromise on a peace deal. Subsequent headlines refuted the initial news, thus pushing the financial market back in the other direction (i.e. toward higher rates). The result was that the average lender recalled their initial rate offerings and re-released higher rates. Things were on track to be even worse this afternoon when Trump said he was cancelling a planned attack and that serious negotiations were taking place. This helped bonds recover some of the earlier losses, but not enough for lenders to make any friendly rate adjustments today. 

May 18, 2026 Download our Mobile App: Download our Mobile App: 30 Yr. Fixed 6.68% +0.03%   5.99% 7.08% 15 Yr. Fixed 6.12% +0.02%   5.55% 6.39% 30 Yr. Jumbo 6.72% +0.03%   6.1% 7.15% Compare Mortgage Rates from Local Lenders for May 18, 2026 Mortgage Rates Start Week at New 9 Month High, But Just Barely Mon, May 18, 2026 3:34PM Mortgage rates hit their highest levels in more than 9 months at the end of last week. Now today, they've edged slightly higher yet again with the average top tier 30yr fixed rate at 6.68% versus 6.65% on Friday. This wasn't necessarily destined to be the case today. In fact the day began with the average lender unchanged. But the underlying market remains highly attuned to breaking news on the Iran war. Earlier in the day, that news was helpful for rates as it spoke to the possibility of compromise on a peace deal. Subsequent headlines refuted the initial news, thus pushing the financial ma... (read more) Mortgage News Daily Rate Change Points 30 Yr. Fixed 6.68% +0.03 0.00 15 Yr. Fixed 6.12% +0.02 0.00 30 Yr. FHA 6.22% +0.05 0.00 30 Yr. Jumbo 6.72% +0.03 0.00 7/6 SOFR ARM 6.49% 0.00 0.00 30 Yr. VA 6.24% +0.05 0.00 Updates Daily - Last Update: 5/18 Freddie Mac Rate Change Points 30 Yr. Fixed 6.36% -0.01 0.00 15 Yr. Fixed 5.71% -0.01 0.00 Updates Weekly - Last Update: 5/14 Mortgage Bankers Assoc. 30 Yr. Fixed 6.46% +0.01 0.63 15 Yr. Fixed 5.83% 0.00 0.68 30 Yr. Jumbo 6.48% +0.01 0.55 Updates Weekly - Last Update: 5/13 UMBS 30YR 5.0 97.14 -0.27   95.71 100.50 UMBS 30YR 5.5 99.50 -0.22   98.11 101.64 10 YR Treasury 4.623 +0.031   3.948 4.628 Early Gains And Losses on Conflicting War Headlines Mon, May 18, 2026 10:36AM Bonds began the overnight session by drifting somewhat higher in yield. The 10yr hit 4.63 before recovering modestly just before domestic trading began. Yields were still slightly higher at 7:30am but moved lower after headlines cited rumors that the U.S. agreed to lift Iran's oil sanctions. Subsequent headlines cited a revised counter-proposal from Iran in ... (read more) MBS Price Change UMBS 4.5 94.70 -0.17 UMBS 5.0 97.14 -0.27 UMBS 5.5 99.50 -0.22 GNMA 4.5 95.00 -0.27 GNMA 5.0 97.68 -0.40 GNMA 5.5 99.85 -0.42 Pricing as of: 5/18 4:01PM EST US Treasury Yield Change 2 YR Treasury 4.090 +0.005 5 YR Treasury 4.282 +0.033 7 YR Treasury 4.452 +0.037 10 YR Treasury 4.623 +0.031 30 YR Treasury 5.147 +0.029 Pricing as of: 5/18 4:01PM EST Other News Equity Tapping, Non-QM Hedging, AI Processing, Subservicing Tools; MBA Hallway Talk Mon, May 18, 2026 11:43AM For those of you who like maps, here’s one of the states’ closing costs. And here’s something for companies who have training programs: New hires should check out the Business Glossary from MISMO. It covers business processes, events, calculations, documents, forms, regulations, AI terminology, and more. LOs of various ages tell me that people in their 20s n... (read more) Latest Video Why Japanese homebuilders are targeting the U.S. housing market Homebuilder sentiment improves on late spring surge in demand Former St. Louis Fed Pres. Bullard on Kevin Warsh: All Fed chairs get teste... Bond bears show their claws Around the Web Investing Live Trump: Stops the planned attack on Iran on request from Saudi's UAE Investing Live US Senior Official: US rejects Irans most recent proposal CNBC Ominous bond trades point to much higher rates CNBC Homebuilder sentiment improves on late spring surge in demand CNBC Kevin Warsh to be sworn in as Federal Reserve chair on Friday Investing Live Al Arabiya: Iran agrees to long-term nuclear freeze in lieu of a complete dismantling. CNBC Traders now see next Fed interest rate move as a hike following inflation surge CNBC Bank of England does not need to hike interest rates, says IMF it may even need to cut CNBC Treasury yields rise amid global bond rout as inflation fears grip investors Eye on Housing Single-Family Permits Continue to Weaken in Early 2026 CNBC Stephen Miran exits the Fed. How he set the stage for Kevin Warsh. NY Fed NY Fed manufacturing index for May 19.6 vs 7.5 estimate NY Fed US NY Fed GDP Nowcast Q2: 2.61% (prev 2.59%)

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