Mortgage rates topped 7% this week, a key psychological threshold, in a sign of the US housing market’s unrelenting affordability challenges.

The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages surpassed 7 percent for the first time since May, Freddie Mac reported on Thursday, extending a weekslong climb that could push more buyers and sellers to the sidelines.

Mortgage rates rose again for the sixth straight week, with the average 30-year fixed-rate note topping 7% for the first time since May as the housing market continues to struggle.

Higher rates are dimming hopes for a recovery in the sluggish housing market.

"While I'd love to say rates will drop below 6% in 2025, I think it's a moderate probability and not a certainty," says Steven Parangi, a licensed mortgage loan originator and owner of Alpine Mortgage Services. His view aligns with the Mortgage Bankers Association's prediction that rates will stay between 6% and 7% throughout the year.

After climbing to their most expensive level in more than seven months, 30-year mortgage rates held steady Tuesday. Rate movement was mixed for other loan types.

The 30-year mortgage rate inched up for the fifth week in a row, Freddie Mac says, making it more expensive to take on a mortgage.

As mentioned, mortgage rates haven't fallen in line with the Fed's rate cuts because they depend on factors beyond the agency's benchmark rate, such as the economy and 10-year Treasury bond yields. For example, when the 10-year treasury rate goes up, mortgage rates tend to follow, and vice-versa.