US mortgage rates jump further to five-month high of 6.43%

[WASHINGTON] US mortgage rates climbed for a third straight week, pushing home-financing costs to the highest since October and dealing a blow to both purchasing and refinancing activity.

The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage rose 13 basis points to 6.43 per cent in the week ended March 20, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released on Wednesday (Mar 25). In the last three weeks, the rate has climbed 34 basis points, the most since November 2024.

The group’s index of mortgage applications for home purchases fell 5.4 per cent last week, the biggest drop since January. Refinancing applications tumbled another 14.6 per cent after a steeper decline in the prior week. 

The pickup in home-financing costs and slowdown in mortgage activity illustrates a widening economic toll from the war in the Middle East. Mortgage rates are tied to movements in the US Treasury market, and the yield on the 10-year note has spiralled higher as the conflict stokes concerns about an oil-driven inflation resurgence.

Higher borrowing costs represent a headwind for the long-suffering housing market as it heads into the crucial spring selling season. Builders had already been employing incentives and cutting prices to help drum up demand and reduce inventory.

The MBA survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990, uses responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The data cover more than 75 per cent of all retail residential mortgage applications in the US. BLOOMBERG