Mortgage rates continue to climb for a third week thanks to the turmoil in the Middle East. How long will it last?
SALT LAKE CITY — Mortgage rates continue to climb for a third week.The average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage in the United States reached 6.22% for the week that ended Thursday, up from the previous week's 6.
11%, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation that's better known as Freddie Mac.The last time the weekly average was that high was in December. And the daily index hit 6.43% for the same type of mortgage, as reported by Mortgage News Daily, with an even higher rate expected later Friday. The daily index posted late Thursday, the highest since last fall, was up 0.07 percentage points from the previous day.Mortgage rates had dropped below 6% for the first time since 2022 shortly before the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran in late February. At the same time, the housing market was increasingly seen as favoring buyers.Since the start of the war, though, rates have gone up amid the economic volatility fueled by the impact of rapidly rising oil prices as a result of the fighting that's shut off supplies from the Middle East.'Uncertainty and concern' affecting mortgage applicationsThe situation is having an effect on the number of people seeking mortgages. Mortgage loan applications were down 10.9% for the week ending March 13 from a week earlier, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association."This market volatility can certainly create some uncertainty and concern for homeowners and new mortgage applications," Zions Bank mortgage manager Jeremy Holmgren told the Deseret News.Holmgren said the changes to mortgage rates "are coming about not because of anything specific to the housing market. It's a reflection of the global bond market. What we're seeing is a domino effect coming from the rising oil prices."Those increases not only mean paying more at the gas pump. They also impact inflation expectations that are tied to the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds that serve as a benchmark for mortgage rates, he said.While mortgage rates hit a low in February not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic, Holmgren pointed out "they are lower than the almost 8% rates we saw in 2023 and lower than the peak of 7% we saw last year."So are mortgage rates likely to drop once the war ends?"It's really hard to predict that since there are many factors outside of oil prices that impact mortgage rates," he said.What's happening with the national housing marketRealtor.com senior economist Ja
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