The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 7.08% for the week of Oct. 27, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey from Freddie Mac, exceeding 7% for the first time since April 2002.
“As inflation endures, consumers are seeing higher costs at every turn, causing further declines in consumer confidence this month,” Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater says. “In fact, many potential home buyers are choosing to wait and see where the housing market will end up, pushing demand and home prices further downward.”
The 30-year FRM increased 140 basis points from the previous week, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.14%. The 15-year FRM averaged 6.36% for the week of Oct. 27 compared with 6.23% the previous week and 2.37% a year ago.
The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 5.96%, up from 5.71% last week. A year ago, the five-year ARM averaged 2.56%.
As mortgage rates have continued to climb, mortgage applications have declined. Applications decreased 1.7% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Oct. 21. On an unadjusted basis, the Market Composite Index decreased 2% from the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index also decreased 2% from the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index was 42% lower than the same week a year ago. The Refinance Index, while increasing 0.1% from the previous week, was down 86% on a year-over-year basis.
“The ongoing trend of rising mortgage rates continues to depress mortgage application activity, which remained at its slowest pace since 1997,” says Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Refinance applications were essentially unchanged, but purchase applications declined 2% to the slowest pace since 2015—over 40% behind last year’s pace.”
According to the MBA, the ARM share of activity decreased to 12.7% of total applications for the week ending Oct. 21.
