Mortgage rates have increased once more, breaking beyond the 6% threshold and rising to their highest level since the fall of 2008.
According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.02% in the week ending September 15, up from 5.89% the previous week.
Mortgage rates increased significantly throughout the first half of the year from their beginning point of 3.22%, reaching nearly 6% in mid-June.
However, since that time, they have been more erratic due to worries about the economy and the Federal Reserve’s goal to fight inflation.
Rates had decreased in July and the first few days of August as recession fears spread.
But recent economic statistics and remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell have refocused investors’ attention on the central bank’s fight against inflation, driving rates higher.
