U.S. mortgage interest rates remain at
highest level since November - MBA
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[March 01, 2023]
(Reuters) - The average interest rate on the most popular U.S.
home loan remained last week at its highest level since November as
stronger-than-expected readings on inflation, job gains and consumer
spending caused investors to hike their bets that the Federal Reserve
will have to keep raising its policy rate through the summer. |
Newly constructed homes are shown already
sold in Encinitas, California, U.S., June 25, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake |
The
average contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased
by 9 basis points to 6.71% for the week ended Feb. 24, data from
the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed on Wednesday, a
third weekly rise in mortgage rates after several weeks of
declines.
That rate has risen more than 50 basis points over the past
month. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note acts as a
benchmark for mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates soared to more than 7% last October as the U.S.
central bank raised its benchmark policy rate in 2022 at the
fastest pace in 40 years, but began to ebb after signs late last
year that inflation was on the wane. The interest rate-sensitive
housing sector has borne the brunt of the Fed's actions.
The rise in mortgage rates meant fewer would-be purchasers. The
MBA's Market Composite Index, a measure of overall mortgage loan
application volume, fell 5.7% from a week earlier. The MBA's
Purchase Composite Index, a measure of all mortgage loan
applications for purchase of a single family home, declined 5.6%
from the prior week.
(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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