Surging Mortgage Rates Threaten US Housing Market Momentum
- Buyers have been whipsawed by borrowing costs in recent weeks
- Volatility threatens to weigh on demand from house hunters
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For a brief moment, it looked like US homebuyers would finally catch a break.
The housing market was beginning to thaw as mortgage rates fell in September to a two-year low. But in the past few weeks, borrowing costs have surged, by one measure even crossing 7% and raising questions about whether a fledgling recovery in home sales contracts will persist.