Mortgage rates in the US rose for the first time in more than a month.
The average for a 30-year, fixed loan was 6.12%, up from 6.09% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday.
Borrowing costs followed 10-year Treasury yields, which started climbing after an unexpectedly robust jobs report late last week raised the prospect of more interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The central bank has affirmed its commitment to using rate increases to fight inflation, but has slowed the pace of the effort.
With the path of mortgage rates uncertain heading into the key spring sales season, would-be homebuyers are in a holding pattern. A dearth of listings is limiting transactions in much of the country, while driving bidding wars in some areas, such as New York City’s affluent suburbs.
The cost of financing remains an affordability hurdle for many buyers. While mortgage rates have come down a bit after topping 7% in November, they’re still dramatically higher than a year ago, when the 30-year average was 3.69%.
As demand sags, some relief may be coming on the pricing front, with gains slowing from the feverish pace of the pandemic boom.
The median price of a previously owned single-family house was up 4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier to $378,700, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. That’s down from an 8.6% annual increase in the third quarter, according to the group’s analysis of 186 metro areas.
“A slowdown in home prices is underway and welcomed, particularly as the typical home price has risen 42% in the past three years,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.
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