Last year, the path to lower mortgage rates seemed relatively straightforward: Official inflation would go down, the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates and the cost of borrowing would gradually ease in 2025.

Mortgage interest rates pulled back a little this week, but it was hardly enough to erase the past three weeks' gains. The week ending Jan. 9, the average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell four basis points to 6.93%, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow. A basis point is one-one hundredth of a percentage point.

Mortgage rates continued to climb this week, with the 30-year fixed rate notching up toward 7% while housing demand remains stalled amid elevated rates and home prices.

The National Association of Realtors preditcs mortgage rates will be around 6% in 2025. Meanwhile, Redfin predicts mortgage rates will remain in the high-6% range throughout 2025, with the weekly average rate fluctuating throughout the year but averaging around 6.8%.

Rates on 30-year mortgage refinance loans edged up another 3 basis points Monday, pushing the average up to 7.15%. That's just 4 basis points under the 7.19% reading notched on Dec. 24, which was the most expensive level for 30-year refi rates since late July.

Mortgage rates have steadily increased over the past three months, a frustrating development for home buyers trying to enter the housing market. When the Fed began cutting interest rates in September 2024,