Mortgage Rates in US Advance to Fresh 16-Year High of 6.81%
- Borrowing costs rose for eighth straight week in early October
- Gauge of refinancing applications dropped to fresh 22-year low
Single family homes in a housing development in Aurora, Colorado, US.
Photographer: Chet Strange/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
US mortgage rates advanced to a fresh 16-year high of 6.81%, extending a rapid ascent in borrowing costs that’s seen dealing a bigger blow to the housing market.
The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose 6 basis points in the first week of October, marking an eighth-straight increase, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. That pushed down a gauge of applications to purchase or refinance a home by 2%, the eighth drop in nine weeks, to the lowest level since 1997.