Surging mortgage rates hit 23-year high
The milestone arrives after months of increases.The 30-year fixed mortgage rate this week climbed to 8%, reaching that level for the first time since 2000, according to Mortgage News Daily.
The milestone arrives after months of rate increases. As recently as last April, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood below 5%, Mortgage News Daily data shows.
An aggressive series of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve since last year has pushed up the 10-year Treasury bond yield, which loosely tracks with long-term mortgage rates.
The Fed has increased interest rates to fight elevated inflation, attempting to slash price hikes by slowing the economy and choking off demand.Mortgage rates have increased for five consecutive weeks, according to data released by Freddie Mac last Thursday.
Major housing industry groups voiced "profound concern" about rising mortgage rates in a letter last week that urged the Federal Reserve to stop hiking its benchmark interest rate.
"The speed and magnitude of these [mortgage] rate increases, and resulting dislocation in our industry, is painful and unprecedented," wrote the real estate groups, among them the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders High mortgage rates have dramatically slowed the housing market, since homebuyers have balked at the stiff borrowing costs, and home sellers have opted to stay put with mortgages that lock them into comparatively low rates.
