Mortgage rates surge to their highest levels in 7 years
CNBC
5/15/2018
- One simple tip to save thousands on a mortgageGetting a mortgage is a high-stakes game. But I've got one tip that can save you $50,000 the next time you play it.
Money Talks News
- No that's not a river, that's North Carolina's Interstate 40.The North Carolina Division of Aviation flew over Interstate 40 to illustrate how dangerous traveling in that area would be. Both sides are completely impassable after Florence brought heavy rain and deep flood waters.
USA TODAY
- Musk reveals SpaceX's first moon tourist, a Japanese billionaireElon Musk introduced e-commerce mogul Yusaku Maezawa at a news conference Monday in California. The Japanese billionaire, who will be the first paying passenger for SpaceX's planned 2023 trip around the moon, said up to eight artists will join him. Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
The Wall Street Journal.
One simple tip to save thousands on a mortgage
Money Talks News1:56No that's not a river, that's North Carolina's Interstate 40.
USA TODAY0:30Musk reveals SpaceX's first moon tourist, a Japanese billionaire
The Wall Street Journal.2:04Visa, Mastercard settle for $6.2 billion
Reuters1:20US retailers struggle to find workers before holidays
Fox Business3:19Machines will handle more workplace tasks than people by 2025
Newsy1:01Twitter to bring back reverse chronological order feed
Veuer0:50Suzy Welch: 4 reasons to get an MBA right now
CNBC1:36
The new work trend: 'Unretirement'
CBS News1:51Here's the ideal amount of money you need to save to buy a house
GOBankingRates1:00Musk says Tesla now in 'delivery logistics hell'
Reuters1:25Waffle House keeps doors open in wake of Florence
USA TODAY0:35Amazon investigates employee bribery claims
Newsy0:43Over 500 reports of price gouging in North Carolina after Hurricane Florence
Veuer0:47This Michelin Star restaurant recycles every scrap of food waste — here’s how
Business Insider3:47Twitter under fire for allegedly targeting conservatives
Fox Business4:15
A sharp sell-off in the bond market is sending mortgage rates to the highest level in seven years.
The average contract rate on the 30-year fixed will likely end the day as high as 4.875 percent for the highest creditworthy borrowers and 5 percent for the average borrower, according to Mortgage News Daily.
Mortgage rates, which loosely follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury, started the year right around 4 percent but began rising almost immediately. They then leveled off in March and early April, only to begin rising yet again. Tuesday's move follows positive economic data in retail sales, suggesting that newly imposed tariffs would not hit sales as hard as expected.
Rates have been widely expected to rise, as the Federal Reserve increases its lending rate and pulls back its investments in mortgage-backed bonds. But mortgage rates have reacted only in fits and starts.
"The bottom line is that the writing on the wall has been telling rates to go higher since at least last September," said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily. "Rates keep looking back to see if the writing has changed, and although there have been opportunities for hope (trade wars, stock selling-sprees, spotty data at times), it hasn't. Today is just the latest reiteration of that writing."
The surge in rates could not have come at a worse time for the spring housing market. Buyers are struggling to find affordable homes for sale, as the supply of listings drops to record lows in most major markets. Home prices are now rising at the fastest rate in four years, according to CoreLogic, and show no sign of easing up.
"Homebuyer demand has remained positive and shaken off the higher rate environment so far this year," said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac. "However, after years of very low mortgage rates, the symbolic risk of a 5 percent mortgage, on top of higher gas prices, may cause a slowdown in homebuyer demand, particularly in western states and exurbs that are affected more by gas prices than the typical consumer."
Higher mortgage rates often chill prices, as sellers have to adjust to what buyers can afford, but with supply and demand so far out of whack, that is unlikely to happen in the near term. If rates move significantly higher, past 5 percent on the 30-year fixed, prices will have to adjust.
CNBC
