Overview
- Daily lender surveys showed the 30-year fixed climbed to about 7.07–7.08% on Thursday, the highest daily readings in more than a year.
- Freddie Mac’s weekly, application-based average remained lower at 6.76%, reflecting differences in timing and how each measure is calculated.
- Markets moved up 10-year Treasury yields after the Treasury’s proposed bond buyback and higher oil prices increased inflation expectations, and mortgage rates track those long-term yields more than the Fed’s short-term rate.
- Higher borrowing costs have reduced refinance activity and cooled buyer demand, and the National Association of Realtors reported existing-home sales fell to a 14-month low in August.
- Many homeowners remain locked into pandemic-era low rates, tightening for-sale supply, and traders expect a near-term Fed move that could keep upward pressure on mortgage costs.