Home ownership is a major goal for most young people, at least outside the huge rabbit warrens that make up places like Manhattan. The possibility of home ownership for many young people, who are often struggling with expenses as their work history is just taking off, is closely tied to interest rates. High interest rates can price too many people, especially young people, right out of the housing market.
On Thursday, the White House, on the official Rapid Response 47 X account, announced that home mortgage rates are lower than they have been since 2022.
🚨 Mortgage rates have dropped to their lowest since September 2022, according to new data from @FreddieMac.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 19, 2026
"This lower rate environment is not only improving affordability for prospective homebuyers, it’s also strengthening the financial position of homeowners." pic.twitter.com/f0ZBxozsdg
That's good news, news that even the legacy media has to acknowledge.
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate slipped this week to its lowest level in more than three years, but remains around 6% in the same narrow range it has been in this year.
The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell to 6.01% from 6.09% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.85%.
The modest pullback brings the average rate to its lowest level since Sept. 8, 2022, when it was 5.89%. That was the last time the average rate was below 6%.
The recent decline in rates is a favorable lead in to the annual spring homebuying season — good news for home shoppers who can afford to buy at current rates.
This is a serious economic indicator. After four years of the disastrous Biden economy, we can use all the good news we can get. We note that the 2022 figure was in the first half of the Biden term, and further note that interest rates were then headed up - now, in the first half of the second Trump term, they are headed down.
Read More: Trumponomics Beats Bidenomics in Swing States, Every Time
President Trump has been pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower the prime interest rate, which could (and should) have a further effect on home mortgage rates, which went nowhere but up during the tenure of whoever was running the autopen from 2021 to 2025.
We might note that home mortgage rates, coming off an 18.6 percent high in the early 1980s, have been dropping steadily until 2021, which saw two key events: The inauguration of Joe Biden and the continuation of the economic hit of the COVID-19 panic.
Read More: Want to Buy a House? Mortgage Rates Jump Above Six Percent for First Time Since 2008
There are, of course, other factors. When my wife and I bought our first home in 1992, if memory serves, our mortgage interest rate was around 10 percent. But the house, a 1,000 square foot starter home in a decent neighborhood, cost only $69,500. That was before the great Denver-area real estate boom. We sold that house six years later for twice what we paid for it.
The drop in interest rates is indeed good news and a hopeful sign for many young families. Dealing with the price of housing is another matter, one that is primarily left to states and municipalities, namely, dealing with onerous zoning and permitting requirements and regulations. And, yes, this is doubtless part of the reason behind the ongoing exodus of citizens from places like California to places like Texas and Florida.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
Help us continue to report on the president’s economic successes and combat the lies of the Democrats. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member