Mortgage rates jumped this week, with the average 30-year fixed loan at 7.13 percent, according to Bankrate’s latest survey of large lenders. Rates rose as the prospect of a Federal Reserve interest rate reduction faded further into the future.
Current mortgage rates
|
Loan type |
Current |
4 weeks ago |
One year ago |
52-week average |
52-week low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7.13% |
6.93% |
6.64% |
7.05% |
6.32% |
|
|
6.55% |
6.24% |
5.97% |
6.4% |
5.68% |
|
|
7.09% |
6.92% |
6.28% |
6.89% |
6.13% |
The 30-year fixed mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.31 discount and origination points. Discount points are a way for you to reduce your mortgage rate, while origination points are fees a lender charges to create, review and process your loan.
Poll results: Will mortgage rates go down next week?
Monthly mortgage payment at today’s rates
$2,063
Monthly mortgage payment as of Feb. 21
The national median family income for 2023 was $96,300, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the median price of an existing home sold in December 2023 was $382,600, according to the National Association of Realtors. Based on a 20 percent down payment and a 7.13 percent mortgage rate, the monthly payment of $2,063 amounts to 26 percent of the typical family’s monthly income.
Will mortgage rates go down?
“The disappointing Consumer Price Index reading administered a dose of interest rate reality to investors — the Fed will be slow to cut rates and it won’t happen right away,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst. “This means interest rates staying higher for longer than was hoped, so bond yields and mortgage rates are recalibrating.”
Back in October, the average rate on 30-year home loans topped 8 percent. Rates crossed back under 7 percent in December after the Federal Reserve announced it’d pivot to cuts in 2024. The central bank left rates unchanged in January — and the latest inflation numbers make it less likely that the central bank will cut rates in the near future.
To be clear, mortgage rates are not set directly by the Fed, but by investor appetite, particularly for 10-year Treasury bonds, the leading indicator for fixed mortgage prices. That can lead to intense rate swings — they soar on news of Fed hikes, then plummet in anticipation of a cut.
Mortgage rates are also chained to inflation, a metric the Fed has been moving to control.
Loan applications fell 10.6 percent this week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, while home prices remain elevated and many markets don’t have enough listings.
“Potential homebuyers are quite sensitive to these rate changes, as affordability is strained with both higher rates and higher home values in this supply-constrained market,” says Mike Fratantoni, MBA chief economist.
Still, a record number of consumers are optimistic rates will come down over the next year, Fannie Mae recently reported.
Learn more: Mortgage rate predictions for February 2024
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The Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders is conducted weekly. To conduct the National Average survey, Bankrate obtains rate information from the 10 largest banks and thrifts in 10 large U.S. markets. In the Bankrate.com national survey, our Market Analysis team gathers rates and/or yields on banking deposits, loans and mortgages. We’ve conducted this survey in the same manner for more than 30 years, and because it’s consistently done the way it is, it gives an accurate national apples-to-apples comparison. Our rates differ from other national surveys, in particular Freddie Mac’s weekly published rates. Each week Freddie Mac surveys lenders on the rates and points based on first-lien prime conventional conforming home purchase mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80 percent. “Lenders surveyed each week are a mix of lender types — thrifts, credit unions, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies — is roughly proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type commands nationwide,” according to Freddie Mac.
