The wait for a more affordable housing market is only getting longer as lingering inflation and tariff uncertainties keep the Fed in monitor mode.

Fed chair Powell's 'wait and see' approach to interest rates has drawn criticism from the Trump administration, which insists that they be slashed to increase homebuyer demand and relieve the housing market. However, the Fed isn't directly responsible for mortgage rates.

The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans increased to 6.75% for the week ending July 17, up from 6.72% last week.

Analysts believe a modest drop in mortgage rates could prove to be a "magic bullet" for the U.S. housing market.

Headwinds for mortgage rates arrived Tuesday in the form of rising inflation, which likely ends the faint hopes of a Fed rate cut in July.

Here's what that means for mortgage rates. At a basic level, inflation is a measure of how much the prices of goods and services are increasing over time. When inflation is high, ...

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also eased. The average rate dropped to 5.87% from 5.92% last week. A year ago, it was 6.07%, Freddie Mac said.

What's inflation got to do with mortgage rates?? A lot, according to housing market experts. This week's release of the Consumer Price Index for February, which measures changes in the cost of ...

Mortgage rates have risen steadily in recent years but that trend could soon end if inflation continues cooling. Getty Images/iStockphoto As millions of Americans wait for this inflationary cycle ...

If inflation remains high and that translates to higher mortgage rates, it could slow the housing market and put “downward pressure” on home prices, says Leonard Kiefer, an economist for ...