The average long-term US mortgage rate rises for 7th straight week, 30-year loan reaches 7.79%
NEW YORK (AP) — The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose for the seventh straight week, creating an increasingly high bar to home ownership for Americans.
The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage is at 7.79%, up from 7.63% last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago the rate was 7.08%.
As mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already out of reach for many Americans. They also discourage homeowners who locked in far low rates two years ago, when they were around 3%, from selling.
The national median mortgage payment was $2,155 in September, up 11%, or $214, from a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes ...