Mortgage rates fell below 6% this week for the first time in three and a half years, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.98% from last week’s reading of 6.01%. 

The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.76% a year ago. It was most recently under 6% on Sept. 8, 2022, at 5.89%.

RENT BECOMING MORE AFFORDABLE FOR MANY AMERICANS AS MARKET STABILIZES

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.98% from last week’s reading of 6.01%. (David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“This rate, combined with the improving availability of homes for sale, is meaningful and will drive more potential buyers into the market for spring homebuying season,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 5.44% from last week’s reading of 5.35%.

TEXAS CAPITAL’S HOUSEHOLD GROWTH SURGES, FAR OUTPACING NATIONAL RATE

Mortgage rates are affected by several factors, including the Federal Reserve and geopolitics. Though mortgage rates are not directly affected by the Fed’s interest rate decisions, they closely track the 10-year Treasury yield. The 10-year yield hovered around 4.02% as of Thursday afternoon.

Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu said the dip in rates comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling against the Trump administration’s use of emergency tariff powers.

US HOME PRICES ARE RISING – BUT THESE FAST-GROWING MARKETS REMAIN AFFORDABLE

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 5.44% from last week’s reading of 5.35%. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

“This legal tug-of-war has triggered a flight to safety among investors, pushing bond prices higher and yields lower, helping mortgage rates settle around 6%,” Xu said. “However, as this week’s decline stems from market volatility rather than fundamental economic data, more supportive economic data is needed to establish a consistent trend.”

Instagram will begin notifying parents if their teenagers repeatedly search for suicide or self-harm related content, marking the first time owner Meta has proactively flagged search behaviour rather than simply blocking it.

From next week, parents and teenagers enrolled in Instagram’s “Teen Accounts” supervision programme in the UK, US, Australia and Canada will receive alerts if a young user searches for harmful terms within a short period of time. The feature will be rolled out globally at a later stage.

Previously, Instagram restricted access to certain harmful material and redirected users to support resources. The new measure goes further by directly alerting parents via email, text message, WhatsApp or within the Instagram app itself, depending on available contact details.

Meta said the alerts are designed to flag sudden changes in search patterns that may indicate distress. Notifications will be accompanied by guidance and expert-backed resources to help parents navigate what are likely to be sensitive conversations.

The move has been met with sharp criticism from the Molly Rose Foundation, established by the family of Molly Russell, who died in 2017 aged 14 after viewing self-harm and suicide content online.

Chief executive Andy Burrows described the announcement as “fraught with risk”, warning that “forced disclosures could do more harm than good”.

“Every parent would want to know if their child is struggling,” Burrows said, “but these flimsy notifications will leave parents panicked and ill-prepared to have the sensitive and difficult conversations that will follow.”

He added that the onus should be on preventing harmful content from appearing in the first place, rather than shifting responsibility onto families after the fact.

The foundation previously published research claiming Instagram was still actively recommending content related to depression, suicide and self-harm to vulnerable young people. Meta rejected those findings, saying they misrepresented its safety efforts.

Ged Flynn, chief executive of Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide, welcomed the attempt to increase transparency but argued that it did not address deeper systemic issues.

“Parents contact us every day to say how worried they are about their children online,” he said. “They don’t want to be warned after their children search for harmful content, they don’t want it to be spoon-fed to them by unthinking algorithms.”

‘Erring on the side of caution’

Meta said the system is designed to “err on the side of caution” and acknowledged that parents may occasionally receive alerts even when there is no serious cause for concern.

The company said the feature builds on broader Teen Account protections, which include automatically limiting exposure to sensitive material, restricting who can contact teens, and blocking certain harmful searches outright.

Two in-app screenshots released by Meta show alerts titled “Alert about your teen’s safety” followed by a screen offering advice on “How you can support your teen”.

Sameer Hinduja, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, said the impact of the new feature would depend heavily on the quality of guidance provided alongside the alert.

“You can’t drop a notification on a parent and leave them on their own,” he said. “What matters is the immediate support and context that follows.”

Meta also confirmed that it plans to introduce similar parental alerts in the coming months if teenagers discuss self-harm or suicide with Instagram’s AI chatbot. The company said young people are increasingly turning to AI tools for advice and emotional support.

The expansion comes amid heightened scrutiny of social media companies’ impact on children’s mental health.

Australia recently passed legislation banning social media access for under-16s, while policymakers in Spain, France and the UK are considering similar measures. In the US, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri have faced legal challenges and congressional hearings over allegations the company’s platforms were designed to attract and retain younger users.

For now, Instagram’s new alert system represents a shift in Meta’s child-safety strategy — moving from passive content restriction to active parental notification. Whether that approach proves protective or problematic will likely depend on how families, regulators and mental health experts respond in the months ahead.

Jamie Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.

When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

Advertisement

The Trump administration isn’t letting a Supreme Court setback derail its tariff strategy. The nation’s top trade official says the White House won’t wait on Congress to restore the program.

In a 6-3 ruling last week, the high court struck down President Donald Trump’s global tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Democrats lauded the Supreme Court’s ruling as a victory, arguing tariffs raise prices for everyday Americans.

But U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said while he’s “disappointed,” it’s not the end of tariffs, adding that he doesn’t plan on waiting for Congress to reestablish the program. He noted that while some members of Congress have offered to work with the White House, the administration has other strategies.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies before the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 9, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“I have had individual members of Congress come to me and express interest in that, and I’m happy to continue having those conversations,” Greer said on the “Fox News Rundown” podcast.

“But I’m not [going to] wait for that to reestablish the president’s tariff program,” he added.

US TRADE REPRESENTATIVE GREER SAYS TARIFFS WILL GO UP TO 15% OR HIGHER FOR SOME COUNTRIES

Greer said the Trump administration is “very confident” that the program could be back up within months. He confirmed they are pivoting to existing authorities, like Section 301 and Section 232, to launch investigations targeting unfair trade practices and national security threats.

President Donald Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speak to members of the media aboard Air Force One on Oct. 30, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We are very confident that within the next few months we can reestablish through these investigations, tariffs to deal with the challenges that have been identified by the president,” Greer told FOX News Audio White House correspondent Jared Halpern.

HOCHUL DEMANDS $13.5B REFUND FOR NEW YORKERS AFTER SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN TRUMP TARIFFS

During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, Trump criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling, calling it “very unfortunate” and saying the program brought in revenue for the country.

President Donald Trump answers questions during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 20. The Supreme Court ruled the same day against his use of emergency powers to implement certain international trade tariffs. (Getty Images)

Greer confirmed that no foreign countries have called the United States to renege on trade deals yet, only asking for clarity.

SELF-DEFENSE COMPANY FINDS MAJOR BENEFITS AFTER MOVING MANUFACTURING FROM OVERSEAS TO US

“It’s not really in the interest of these countries to renege on the deal because then their auto tariffs go up, all these other things. So, I’d say they’ve been very constructive conversations,” Greer said.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Tariffs have become a signature aspect of the second Trump administration. In 2025, the president declared the country’s trade deficit a “national emergency,” arguing the IEEPA gave him broad tariff authority.

In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the president wrote on Truth Social that he would raise a global tariff rate to 15%.

This article was written by

Follow