Lowest Rates Since 2022 Should Fuel New Housing Revival – RedState
Homeownership is a major goal for most young people, at least outside of the huge rabbit warrens that are places like Manhattan. The possibility of accessing property for many young people, who often struggle to meet their expenses while their professional experience is just starting to take off, is closely linked to interest rates. High interest rates can exclude too many people, especially young people, from 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 fell to their lowest level since September 2022, new data from @FreddieMac.
“This lower rate environment not only improves affordability for potential buyers, but also strengthens the financial position of homeowners.” pic.twitter.com/f0ZBxozsdg
– Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 19, 2026
This is good news, news that even mainstream media needs to recognize.
The average long-term mortgage rate in the United States fell 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. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.85%.
This slight decline brings the average rate to its lowest level since September 8, 2022, when it was 5.89%. This was the last time the average rate was below 6%.
The recent drop in rates is a positive step forward for the annual spring homebuying season – good news for homebuyers who can afford to purchase at current rates.
This is a serious economic indicator. After four years of Biden’s disastrous economy, we can use all the good news we can get. We note that the 2022 figure was in the first half of Biden’s term, and further note that interest rates were rising then – now, in the first half of Trump’s second term, they are falling.
Learn more: Trumponomics Beats Bidenomics in Swing States, Every Time
President Trump has been pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower the prime rate, which could (and should) have a further effect on home mortgage rates, which have only risen during Trump’s tenure leading the automatic opening from 2021 to 2025.
It’s worth noting that home mortgage rates, after peaking at 18.6% in the early 1980s, declined steadily through 2021, which saw two key events: the inauguration of Joe Biden and the continuing economic hit from the COVID-19 panic.
Learn more: Do you want to buy a house? Mortgage rates exceed 6% for the 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 in a decent neighborhood, only cost $69,500. This was before the big Denver area housing boom. We sold that house six years later for double what we paid for it.
The drop in interest rates is indeed good news and a sign of hope for many young families. The issue of housing affordability is another matter, primarily a matter for states and municipalities to deal with onerous zoning and permitting requirements and regulations. And yes, this probably partly explains the continued 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, the U.S. economy is back on track.
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