US mortgage rates resume climb, ratcheting up pressure on buyers

MORTGAGE rates in the US rose to levels last seen in July.

The average for a 30-year fixed loan was 6.84 per cent, up from 6.78 per cent last week, Freddie Mac said on Thursday (Nov 21).

Homebuyers are facing mortgage rates that have climbed in seven of the past eight weeks. High borrowing costs have caused more shoppers to back out of deals, with a higher percentage of home purchases being cancelled last month, according to Redfin.

While closed sales of previously owned homes rose by the most in eight months in October, that’s “unlikely to be repeated” since borrowing costs have risen in recent weeks, according to Capital Economics. The market is likely to remain “stagnant” for a while, the economists wrote in a note on Thursday.

Still, there are small signs that some buyers are starting to wade in after waiting out the presidential election. A measure of early-stage demand by Redfin climbed to the highest level since August 2023.

“We are keeping a close eye on whether this is a short post-election boom, or if it translates into a steady improvement in pending sales,” said Chen Zhao, Redfin economic research lead. BLOOMBERG