Mortgage rates ticked higher this week, nudging the average long-term U.S. home loan rate closer to its recent high for the year.
The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate edged up to 6.66% from 6.65% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday
One year ago, the average rate was 6.56%. Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power. As rates rise, that can lead prospective home shoppers to delay buying a home, one reason U.S. home sales remain in a rut this year.
The average rate is now back to where it was four weeks ago and is just shy of 6.69%, the high for the year it reached earlier this month. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate increased to 5.98% from 5.95% last week.