Mortgage rates rose for the sixth week in a row amid worries over another potential interest-rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was averaging 7.63% as of Oct. 19, according to data released by Freddie Mac
FMCC,
+0.24%
on Thursday. It’s up 6 basis points from the previous week. One basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point. Rates continue to be at the highest level since December 2000.
A year ago, the 30-year rate was averaging 6.94%. The average rate on the 15-year mortgage was averaging 6.92% as of Oct. 19, up from 6.89% last week. A year ago, the15-year was at 6.23%. Freddie Mac’s weekly report on mortgage rates is based on thousands of applications received from lenders across the country that are submitted to Freddie Mac when a borrower applies for a mortgage. Separate data from Mortgage News Daily said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was averaging 8% as of Thursday afternoon. What Freddie Mac said: “Mortgage rates continued to approach eight percent this week, further impacting affordability,” Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement. “In this environment, it’s important that borrowers shop around with multiple lenders for the best mortgage rate,” he added. Freddie Mac earlier this week launched a new down-payment-assistance tool that helps lenders and borrowers find programs to bring down the cost of bu …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source