WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped back up ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting where it’s expected to announce another big increase to its main borrowing rate.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate jumped to 5.23% this week from 5.09% last week. A year ago at this time, the average rate was 2.96%. Until April, the average rate hadn’t exceeded 5% in over a decade.
The brisk jump in rates, along with a sharp increase in home prices, has been pushing potential homebuyers out of the market.
Mortgage applications decreased 6.5% from one week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. The group’s composite index, a measurement of mortgage loan application volume, is at its lowest level in 22 years. Its refinance index is 75% lower than a year ago.
