Mortgage rate forecast for May 2024: No break for homebuyers

Jeff Ostrowski | Bankrate.com (TNS)
As homebuyers grapple with record prices this spring, mortgage rates have also crept up. On a 30-year fixed loan, the average rate was 7.39% as of May 1, according to Bankrate’s survey of large lenders, marking three straight months of 7% rates.
Blame inflation. It’s still stubbornly elevated, rising to 3.5% in March, and that’s led to dialed-back expectations about how quickly the Federal Reserve cuts rates this year