Mortgage rates inched up again this week to 5.81%, according to Freddie Mac.
It means fixed rates have increased by more than two full percentage points since the beginning of the year.
"The combination of rising rates and high home prices is the likely driver of recent declines in existing home sales," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “However, in reality, many potential homebuyers are still interested in purchasing a home, keeping the market competitive but leveling off the last two years of red-hot activity.”
It's pushing some people out of the market.
The latest numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) show the median mortgage application payment increased in May to $1,897. The MBA reported that payments have increased $513 in the first five months of the year.
Last week, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark Federal Funds rate by 0.75%, the largest increase since November 1994, as part of its continuing effort to slow rampant inflation.
Existing-home sales continued their decline in May, falling 3.4% from April and 8.6% from May of last year, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. It was the fourth-consecutive monthly decline.
The NAR also said the median existing-home price for all housing types in May was $407,600, up 14.8% from May 2021 and topping $400,000 for the first time ever. It marked 123 consecutive months of year-over-year increases, the longest streak on record.
Freddie Mac released the results today of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, reporting that all loan types increased this week:
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.81% with an average 0.8 point as of June 23, 2022, up from last week when it averaged 5.78%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.02%.
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.92% with an average 0.9 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.81%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.34%.
- 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.41% with an average 0.3 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.33%. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.53%.
