Mortgage rates rose above 7% for the first time since mid-2024, an early setback for a housing market that is coming off two consecutive years of poor sales. The average rate on the standard 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 7.04% this week, according to a survey of lenders by mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac That marked the first time since May that it rose above 7%, an important psychological threshold for buyers and sellers. “Unfortunately, we’re at that point again,” said Calvin Lawhorn, president of Lawhorn & Associates Mortgage Company, where purchase and refinance volumes were down 20% from a year earlier in 2024.