President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements led to a sell-off in the stock market and prompted investors to move to safer assets such as Treasury bonds. The 10-year Treasury yield declined and the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped from 6.75% to 6.55% last week. 

Mortgage Rates: Despite the initial drop, mortgage rates rebounded as Treasury yields ticked back up. On Monday, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage surged to 6.82%, marking the largest single-day increase of the year. 

The current rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage sits at 6.85%, according to Mortgage News Daily. 

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Home Sales: Pending home sales ticked higher in early April with 72,000 newly pending single-family home sales and 15,000 condo transactions last week — the highest weekly volume since late April 2024, according to the National Association of Realtors. 

"Despite the modest monthly increase, contract signings remain well below normal historical levels," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. 

"A meaningful decline in mortgage rates would help both demand and supply — demand by boosting affordability and supply by lessening the power of the mortgage rate lock-in effect."

Buyer Demand: Recent mortgage rate stability encouraged buyers, with purchase applications reaching their highest growth rate since late 2023 in early April. However, Trump's new tariff policies and China's retaliation have reintroduced uncertainty and volatility to the stock market and mortgage rates. 

"The spring housing season is beginning with more sellers and a growing number of homes for sale," said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.

"But the high cost of buying coupled with growing economic concerns suggest a sluggish response from buyers in early spring," Hale added. 

Inventory and Pricing Trends

Real Estate ETF: Investors can find alternative exposure to the real estate market through the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSE:VNQ), which tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index, measuring the performance of U.S. equity REITs, specialized REITs and real estate management/development companies. 

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