WASHINGTON, DC — If you have been waiting for homebuying to get easier, the latest forecasts suggest 2027 may not offer much relief. 30-year fixed mortgage rates are still expected to hover near 7%, leaving borrowing costs high for many would-be buyers.
The average 30-year fixed rate is 6.81% now, according to Mortgage News Daily. Fannie Mae says rates should average 6.7% in 2027, up from its 6.3% forecast a month earlier. The Mortgage Bankers Association also raised its 2027 outlook to 6.7% in August from 6.5% in June.
What The Forecasts Say
Those revisions matter because they show forecasters have dialed back hopes for a meaningful drop in mortgage costs. Instead of easing lower, expectations now call for rates to stay roughly where they are today. That keeps the monthly payment pressure in place even if home prices stop rising as quickly.
Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, said most of the recent affordability strain has come from higher mortgage rates, even though national home prices have been falling year over year through 2026. He said inflation remains the deeper problem behind the outlook, because stubborn price growth tends to keep borrowing costs elevated.
Inflation Keeps Pressure On
Mortgage rates often move with the 10-year Treasury yield, which is shaped by expectations for inflation and economic growth. When investors expect inflation to stay high, they usually demand higher yields, and mortgage rates can follow. Marty Green, a residential mortgage lending attorney at Polunsky Beitel Green, said even the more optimistic forecasters have had to adjust to a higher-rate environment.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis said the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure rose 3.7% in July from a year earlier, well above the Fed’s 2% target. Green also pointed to renewed tariffs and the war in Iran as factors that could keep inflation and borrowing costs elevated. Realtor.com’s own forecast had expected rates around 6.3% for the rest of 2026, but the company later said that view may have been too optimistic.
What Buyers Face Next
For buyers, the outlook suggests affordability may stay strained rather than improve sharply in 2027. National home prices are still about 59% above 2020 levels, and Fannie Mae’s latest survey of more than 100 housing experts projects another 2.2% gain in 2027. That creates what Berner described as a double hit when prices and mortgage rates stay elevated at the same time.
Builders are not getting much relief either. The National Association of Home Builders says tariffs are raising costs for materials such as lumber, plywood, steel, aluminum, copper and cement, while shortages of skilled workers continue. The group also says higher oil prices have pushed up fuel costs for producing and moving materials. Buyers can check rate forecasts from Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association and Mortgage News Daily to see how those expectations change over time.
More on what homes, rents and new builds are doing near you, on RHS Commoner.
