Mortgage Rates Rise After Month of Declines
After a month of steady decreases, mortgage rates have edged upward this week, following the trend of the 10-year Treasury yield. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased by five basis points, reaching 6.22%, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market survey.
Current Rates Compared to Last Year
- The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.22%, up from last week's 6.17%, but down from 6.79% a year ago.
- The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed nine basis points to 5.50%, compared to 5.41% last week and 6% a year ago.
Expert Commentary on Affordability
"On a median-priced home, this could allow a homebuyer to save thousands annually compared to earlier this year, showing that affordability is slowly improving," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist.
Influence of Federal Reserve Actions
The Federal Reserve's recent 25 basis point benchmark rate cut has had minimal impact on mortgage rates, which have actually increased by three basis points since. This limited effect is partly due to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's statement casting doubt on another rate cut in December.
Following Powell's remarks at the Federal Open Market Committee Meeting, the 10-year Treasury yield rose from 3.98% to 4.08% by Thursday noon, reinforcing the current mortgage rate trends.
Market Outlook
According to Zillow, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate is expected to remain within the 6% to 7% range for the foreseeable future.
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