1 yr. ago • 100%

Mortgage rates soar to their highest level in 21 years

www.cnn.com Mortgage rates soar to their highest level in 21 years | CNN Business

US mortgage rates surged this week, rising to their highest level in 21 years.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.09% in the week ending August 17, up from 6.96% the week before. Rates have been above 6.5% since the end of May and climbing higher since mid-July. This week’s average rate is the highest the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has been since April 2002 when it was 7.13%.

20 comments

Sheesh, you could barely floss between those houses!

23
- Yea, that's suburbia hell for you. I don't understand the appeal either.
  
  9
  
  The appeal is being within an hour of your workplace. I live in the burbs but my subdivision has much more space than the picture here.
  
  3
- You should see NYC boroughs. Smaller than that, attached, no yard or parking space. $900K!
  
  4
- The "suburban dream" looks to be dying out for capitalism reasons (not to mention the exaustion of land a commutable distance by car from cities) and the yard is becoming inceasingly vestigial. Soon they'll reinvent townhomes
  
  1
So glad I got 2.5% on my 30 year fixed a couple of years ago when I refi'd.

I NEVER thought I would see a rate that low. I am still amazed at it.

18
- Purchased a house at about the same interest rate weeks before the rates went up. I am also still amazed at the timing and where we are.
  
  5
- I unfortunately wasn't able to refinance, but I'm still significantly below 4%. I don't think I could afford to buy my own house today with current rates and house values because my mortgage would more than double.
  
  2
  
  Below 4% is a huge win. I bought my house in 2007 at 6.5%. Refinanced after the financial meltdown at 5% then again in 2012 at 3.25%.
  
  It's been an absolute gift to build equity with such a low rate, but I'm also lucky that I didn't have to move.
  
  3
- 2.75 on a 20 year when I refinanced in...2020 I think. You can bet your ass I have zero plans to sell. I would like some more land but not right now.
  
  1
Over 7.25% for some loans today. Definitely making an impact on the market as a whole right now

7
This is the best summary I could come up with:

Buying a home is more expensive because of the added cost of financing the mortgage, and homeowners who previously locked in lower rates are reluctant to sell.

“The economy continues to do better than expected and the 10-year Treasury yield has moved up, causing mortgage rates to climb,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Treasuries moved higher as investors reacted to the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes on Wednesday, which said members are worried that inflation will linger longer than expected at an elevated level, said George Ratiu, Chief Economist at Keeping Current Matters, a real estate market insights and content company.

“With the view of the late 1970s’ twin inflation peaks firmly in its monetary lens, the central bank remains determined to bring price growth to the 2.0% target,” he said.

While this strong economic data might cool worries about an imminent recession, it could give rise to concerns that interest rates might stay elevated for an extended period, she said.

“As a result, the Fed may opt to take another ‘wait-and-see’ strategy in its upcoming meeting, which may help potentially mitigate the recent upward trajectory of mortgage rates,” Xu said.

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