Economists’ 2025 housing market forecasts largely call for mortgage rates to stay above 6% next year

AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Home shoppers hoping for more attractive mortgage rates next year may be disappointed. That’s the takeaway from several economists’ 2025 housing forecasts. The majority of the eight forecasts call for the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to remain above 6% next year, with some including an upper range as high as 6.8%. That range would be largely in line with where rates have hovered this year. The biggest wildcard for mortgage rates next year is whether President-elect Donald Trump’s major policy initiatives end up driving inflation and the national debt higher, which could keep mortgage rates elevated.