Mortgage costs are rising - with the average rate on a two-year fixed deal now at 5.5% - despite a recent cut in interest rates. A string of lenders, including Barclays, HSBC, NatWest and Nationwide, have increased the rates charged on new fixed deals in recent days.

Kent, the mortgage banker, noted that Fed rate cuts have more impact on credit cards, car loans, and other short-term borrowing than on business and mortgage loans. If mortgage rates stay high, he expects more buyers will ask for adjustable-rate loans, as if betting that rates will fall over the next few years.

Mortgage rates aren’t directly tied to the federal funds rate like savings and CDs. Instead, they’re tied to the 10-year Treasury yield, which is at its highest level in three months.

Mortgage rates, in particular, surged last year to their highest level since 2000 but have since come down alongside inflation. But it's been a bumpy ride back to the bottom in recent weeks. What, then, does this latest Fed rate cut mean for mortgage interest rates? That's what we'll break down below.

Though the Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates, mortgage rates have been increasing or holding steady. When will potential homeowners see mortgage relief.

These are today's mortgage and refinance rates. If the Fed ends up keeping rates steady next month, we could see mortgage rates tick up slightly.