mortgage rates declined for the first time since a month ago but the retreat isn’t guaranteed to last long the 30year fixedrate mortgage averaged 309 for the week ending nov 4 down five basis points from the previous week freddie mac fmcc reported thursday the 15year fixedrate mortgage meanwhile fell two basis points to an average of 235 the 5year treasuryindexed adjustablerate mortgage averaged 254 also down two basis points from the previous week “with inflation indicators largely meeting expectations last week rates got some relief as markets recalibrated interest rate expectations during the week” said paul thomas vice president of capital markets at zillow z zg  another factor that could explain the weekly decline was the continued uncertainty in washington dc regarding the future of biden’s policies on infrastructure and social spending said danielle hale chief economist at realtorcom “while election results bring certainty about who’s governing policy uncertainty remains as the bills to enact the president’s infrastructure and families plan continue to be a work in progress” hale said “this policy and economic uncertainty prevented another big jump in rates this week” however the forward trajectory for the federal reserve’s policies is expected to keep interest rates elevated for the foreseeable future the fed announced wednesday that it will begin scaling back the monthly bond purchases it has engaged in since the start of the pandemic in an effort to prop up the economy at the start of the covid19 crisis the central bank was buying trillions of dollars in bonds but then reduced that amount to a pace of 120 billion per month in june now the fed said it will further decrease that pace by 15 billion per month in november and december the move is seen as “a vote of confidence in the current state and expected future of the economy” hale said however this does mean that the fed will be purchased 5 billion less in mortgagebacked securities per month starting in november those purchases gave mortgage lenders the fuel needed to keep interest rates as low as they have since last year “in light of this move mortgage rates are likely to maintain a gradual rate of increase” hale said but she added that home buyers have not yet been rattled too much by the fluctuations in interest rates even amid rising home prices one big reason why she said is because rents are skyrocketing creating pressure for firsttime home buyers who want to get a handle on their housing costs