US housing market: War with Iran drives US mortgage rates higher for fourth-straight week | CNN Business

The US housing market was supposed to turn a corner this year, but economic uncertainty and a jump in mortgage rates fueled by the US-Israeli war in Iran are complicating affordability for American homebuyers. After years of sluggish sales, economists expected 2026 to bring lower mortgage rates and more homes for sale, breathing new life into the market after home transactions fell to 30-year lows last year. But the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.38% this week, climbing for the fourth-straight week to levels not seen in more than six months, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac. It’s the largest one-week jump in mortgage rates since April 2025, when markets were rattled due to President Donald Trump’s initial tariff announcement. Higher mortgage rates due to the conflict in Iran and a weakening job market are making buyers more cautious, real estate experts told CNN. “What we really want to see is healthy demand going into the spring selling season,” Kamini Lane, CEO of Coldwell Banker, one of the country’s largest real estate brokerages, told CNN. “Now, there’s a lot of volatility. The geopolitical landscape, coupled with the macroeconomi