Home loan rates have been running in recent weeks at levels not seen since early 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was breaking in the
Mortgage buyer
The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular among those refinancing their homes, jumped to 2.79% from 2.62% last week.
Mortgage rates have been expected to rise this year after the
Last week, the government reported that inflation spiked to 7% in December from a year earlier, the sharpest such increase in four decades. In addition, the
In addition to surging inflation, experts expect robust economic growth and the tight labor market to continue to push rates higher.
Available housing has been in short supply since long before the pandemic started, and prices have risen close to 20% over the past year. Higher mortgage rates could make it even harder for homebuyers to secure a new home.
New data released Thursday showed that sales of previously occupied homes fell in December for the first time in four months as many would-be buyers were frustrated by a lack of available homes — which fell to the lowest level in over two decades.
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