U.S. mortgage rates rose for the fourth week in a row to a two-month high, in a major blow to housing affordability. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose and averaged 6.94% as of February 29, according to data released by Freddie Mac
FMCC,
+0.23%
on Thursday. It’s up 4 basis points from the previous week — one basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point.
A year ago, the 30-year was averaging at 6.65%. The average rate on the 15-year mortgage was 6.26%, down from 6.29% last week. The 15-year was at 5.89% a year ago. 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 by Mortgage News Daily said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was averaging at 7.15% as of Thursday afternoon. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey noted that the 30-year was at 7.04% as of February 23. What Freddie Mac said: “The recent boomerang in rates has dampened already tentative homebuyer momentum as we approach the spring, a historically busy season for homebuying,” Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement. “While sales of newly built homes are trending in a positive direction, higher …
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FMCC,
+0.23%
on Thursday. It’s up 4 basis points from the previous week — one basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point.
A year ago, the 30-year was averaging at 6.65%. The average rate on the 15-year mortgage was 6.26%, down from 6.29% last week. The 15-year was at 5.89% a year ago. 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 by Mortgage News Daily said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was averaging at 7.15% as of Thursday afternoon. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey noted that the 30-year was at 7.04% as of February 23. What Freddie Mac said: “The recent boomerang in rates has dampened already tentative homebuyer momentum as we approach the spring, a historically busy season for homebuying,” Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement. “While sales of newly built homes are trending in a positive direction, higher …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]