A contractor works on the framing of a house under construction in the Norton Commons subdivision of Louisville, Ky,, on Feb. 8.Martha C. White
The most common average interest rate jumped by more than half a percentage point since March 10, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That amount — 0.57 percent, to be precise — might not sound like very much, but as mortgage rate movements go, a leap of more than half a percentage point in two weeks is eye-catching.
With access to data feeds that refresh continually throughout the day, Fratantoni is watching the spike happen in real time."If you look over the last couple of days, rates have continued to move up, [even] from hour to hour,” he said.Rates for all types of mortgages have been ticking up since the beginning of 2022, according to the MBA and government agencies.
The Fed also spent roughly two years buying up billions of dollars monthly in mortgage bonds — a security backed by mortgage-based assets — part of a series of steps, some of them unprecedented, to shore up an economy threatening to buckle under the weight of a pandemic. How and how fast it unwinds those holdings are other open questions making investors jittery.
Evidence suggests that the climbing costs — even before the 26 basis-point leap — are starting to give buyers pause. Sales of new homes fell for the second month in a row in February, catching forecasters by surprise.Economists worry about the broader ripple effects of a cooling housing market because buying a home is a catalyst for spending.
I seriously don't understand why anyone would buy a house right now. 'If the price is too high, do not buy' Same for cars. Yes, obviously some things are necessities, but many things aren't.