Home buyers around the U.S. face thousands of dollars in extra costs as mortgage interest rates surge.
The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. has risen to 4.67%, up sharply from 4.42% a week ago, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The cost of home loans has surged over the last year, especially after the Federal Reserve announced earlier month that it was raising its short-term borrowing rate for the. A year ago, a fixed-rate 30-year mortgage — the most common loan for Americans buying a home — averaged 3.18%. The rate on a 15-year mortgage now averages 3.83%, up from 3.63% last week and 2.45% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac. The Mortgage Bankers Association pegs the average rate on a conventional home loan at an even stiffer 4.8%. Mortgage rates haven’t risen this quickly since February 2011, according to the group. That is compounding the difficulty of buying a home, with Mike Fratantoni, the trade group’s chief economist, also noting the shortage of properties for sale.
