But mortgage rates are expected to finish the year at 6.4%, economists forecast. And most are not able to confidently predict when they will go below 6%. It has been nearly three years since the 30-year rate was below 6%. During the height of the pandemic, the average 30-year rate dropped to 2.67%. That was in late 2020.

Mortgage rates have dropped, but it's likely not tied to today’s Fed news. Here’s why waiting for a Fed rate cut could be a poor strategy for homebuyers.

High mortgage rates have little to do with the Fed’s benchmark rate, the Fed chair said. “We don't set mortgage rates at the Fed. We set an overnight rate,” Powell said. The rates that go into mortgages are longer-term rates.