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Mortgage rates have risen above 4% for the first time since May 2019.
The 30-year fixed-rate home loan averaged 4.16% in the week ending on Thursday, up from 3.85% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac.
A year ago, the long-term rate was 3.05%.
The data was released just a day after the Federal Reserve boosted interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point in an effort to tame rapidly rising inflation.
The decision marks a reversal of the stimulus policy adopted by the central bank to prop up the economy when it was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mortgage rates rise and fall independently of the federal funds rate. Instead, they correspond to the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds.
“The Federal Reserve raising short-term rates and signaling further increases means mortgage rates should continue to rise over the course of the year,” said Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater.
The average rate of the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.39% — an increase from 3.09% last week.
Analysts are now waiting to see how the rising mortgage rates will impact the housing market.
Home prices are up about 15% in the past year and as much as 30% in some cities.
Available housing has been in short supply even before the pandemic started two years ago, and higher prices and rising interest rates will make it even harder for Americans to secure a new home.
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