Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages also slipped by .01 percent this week to 5.99 percent from 6 percent last week. Meanwhile, borrowing costs on 30-year and 15-year h

The current median interest rate is 6.99% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and 6.25% for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage

This uptick underscores the challenges facing the Federal Reserve, which began easing interest rates in September in response to declining price pressures and signs of a weaker labor market. The Fed slashed its benchmark rate by 0.