US Mortgage Rates Rise to Highest Level Since Late July at 6.73% – BNN Bloomberg

On October 30, 2024By Karl

(Bloomberg) — U.S. mortgage rates rose to their highest level since July, leading to a fifth consecutive weekly decline in refinancing activity.

The 30-year fixed mortgage contract rate rose 21 basis points to 6.73% in the week ending Oct. 25, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Over the past four weeks, the interest rate has risen by nearly 60 basis points, the largest increase since March 2023.

The MBA refinancing practices indicator fell 6.3% last week, falling to its lowest level since July. The declines were the longest in more than a year.

While the home purchase index rose for the first time in four weeks, rising mortgage rates and still-high demand prices limit optimism that the housing market could stage a rapid recovery.

Mortgage interest rates are tracking U.S. Treasury yields, which have risen this month on signs of steady economic growth and doubts among some about whether Fed policymakers will cut interest rates by two quarter points by the end of the year, as officials have predicted.

The MBA survey, conducted weekly since 1990, uses responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and savings banks. The data covers more than 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the United States.