The federal funds rate and mortgage interest rates are often expected to move together, but they haven’t lately. Here’s why.

It's important to understand that the Fed's decision to pause rate cuts will not directly impact mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are actually driven by a range of factors, including the Fed's rate changes. This week's Fed rate decision does, however, have a big influence on where mortgage rates could head.

Mortgage rates are largely stuck at 7% for the time being. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced that it was holding its benchmark interest rate steady. The 30-year mortgage rate barely budged following the Fed’s announcement,

Friday, ending the week just a few basis points above their lowest level of the new year. Many other loan types also saw steady averages.

Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home dropped 0.4% from one week earlier and were 7% lower than the same week one year ago. Mortgage rates didn't move last week, but demand for new home loans continued to weaken.

We analyzed mortgage reviews on 10 major financial sites to find out which providers landed on the most “best mortgage” lists

Mortgage rates pulled back slightly this week, with the 30-year fixed rate averaging 7.03 percent, down from 7.06 percent the previous week, according to Bankrate’s latest lender survey. The Federal Reserve held off cutting rates on Wednesday and could keep to that stance until the inflation picture becomes clearer.