Mortgage rates continue to climb toward 8%, home purchases now at 'virtual standstill': Freddie Mac
The Peebles Corporation founder, Chairman and CEO Don Peebles predicts headwinds for the real estate market with high interest, mortgage rates and commercial building problems.
Mortgage rates continued their upward trajectory this week, inching closer to 8% yet again as purchase demand sputters.
Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate for the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage has now hit 7.79%, up from 7.63% last week and from 7.08% a year ago.
The rate for a 15-year mortgage also climbed, averaging 7.03% after coming in last week at 6.92%. One year ago, the rate on a 15-year fixed note averaged 6.36%.
A sign is posted in front of a home for sale on July 14, 2022, in San Francisco. The housing market is stalling as mortgage rates continue to climb. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
This is the seventh week in a row that rates have risen, marking the longest stretch of consecutive increases since spring 2022, Freddie Mac said.
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«Rates have risen two full percentage points in 2023 alone and, as we head into Halloween, the impacts may scare potential homebuyers,» Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said in a statement. «Purchase activity has slowed to a virtual standstill, affordability remains a significant hurdle for many and the only way to address it is lower rates and greater inventory.»
Homes in Hercules, California, on Aug. 16, 2023. Mortgage rates are now the highest they have been in more than 20 years and continue to rise, approaching 8%. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)
With mortgage rates at their highest level in more than two decades, more would-be buyers are balking at the cost of a house payment. At the same time, more
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