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Friday, November 25, 2022 • B3
THE GARDEN ISLAND
HIGHER MORTGAGE RATES SEND HOMEBUYERS SCRAMBLING FOR RELIEF Alex Veiga ASSOCIATED PRESS
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rate slips to 6.58 percent ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged lower for the second time in as many weeks, though it remains more than double what it was a year ago —- a significant hurdle for many would-be homebuyers. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Wednesday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate fell to 6.58 percent from 6.61 percent last week. A year ago the average rate was 3.1 percent. The rate for a 15-year mortgage, popular with those refinancing their homes, fell to 5.90 percent from 5.98 percent last week. It was 2.42 percent one year ago. Late last month, the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate breached 7 percent for the first time since 2002. It climbed to 7.08 percent again earlier this month, but has pulled back in the two weeks since. “In recent weeks, rates have hit above 7 percent only to drop by almost half a percentage point,” noted said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “This volatility is making it difficult for potential homebuyers to know when to get into the market, and that is reflected in the latest data which shows existing home sales slowing across all price points.” Mortgage rates have more than doubled from where they were in early January, echoing a sharp rise in the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. The yield is influenced by a variety of factors, including global demand for U.S. Treasurys and investors’ expectations for future inflation, which heighten the prospect of rising interest rates overall. The Federal Reserve, which has been hiking its short-term lending rate since March in a bid to crush the highest inflation in decades, raised its rate again early this month by 0.75 percentage points, three times its usual margin, for a fourth time this year. Its key rate now stands in a range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent. While recent data suggest inflation may have peaked, stoking hope that the Fed will begin to ease up on its rate increases, recent comments by Fed officials have dimmed such optimism. Last week, James Bullard, who leads the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said that the Fed may have to raise its benchmark interest rate much higher than it has previously projected to get inflation under control. “This could mean that mortgage rates may climb again, and that risk goes up if next month’s inflation reading comes in on the higher side,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. The sharp rise in mortgage rates this year, combined with still-climbing home prices, have added hundreds of dollars to monthly home loan payments relative to last year, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage barely got up above 3 percent much of the time. That’s created a significant affordability hurdle for many would-be homebuyers, spurring this year’s housing market downturn. Last month, sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the ninth consecutive month, hitting the slowest pre-pandemic annual sales pace in more than 10 years. The run-up in mortgage rates has prompted many homebuyers to choose adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, over the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan.
LOS ANGELES — Mortgage rates are more than double what they were a year ago, so many homebuyers are looking for ways to put off some of the pain for a few years. The trend has driven adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, to the highest usage in over a decade. A recent snapshot by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that ARMs accounted for 12.8 percent of all home loan applications in the week ended Oct. 14. The last time these loans made up a bigger share of all mortgage applications was in the first week of March 2008. At the start of the year ARMs represented only 3.1 percent of all mortgage applications. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage then was 3.22 percent, while last month that rate topped 7 percent — the highest since 2002. This week, the average rate for a 30-year mortgage fell to 6.58 percent, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A year ago, it was 3.1 percent. Mortgage rates’ swift rise follows a sharp increase in the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which has climbed amid expectations of higher interest rates overall as the Federal Reserve has hiked its short-term rate in a bid to crush the highest inflation in decades. As mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars to monthly mortgage payments. That’s a significant hurdle for
NAM Y. HUH / ASSOCIATED PRESS
An advertising sign for building land stands in front of a new home construction site in Northbrook, Ill., on June 23, 2021. many would-be homebuyers, resulting in this year’s housing downturn. Last month, sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the ninth consecutive month. Annual sales are running at the slowest pre-pandemic pace in more than 10 years. For house hunters still able to afford a home at current elevated mortgage rates, reducing their monthly payments with an adjustable-rate loan for the first few years can help give them financial flexibility. A homebuyer who takes out a
typical 5/1 ARM, for example, will have a low, fixed rate for the first five years of the loan. After that, the loan shifts to an adjustable interest rate, which could be higher or lower, until the debt is paid off, or the buyer refinances the loan. Another approach that’s become popular recently is buying down the interest rate on a fixedrate 30-year loan for the first two or three years. Buying down the rate on a 30year mortgage can make monthly payments more manageable -— something both homebuilders and
homeowners are offering to entice buyers as the housing market slows. Let’s say a borrower takes out a 30-year mortgage with a 6 percent fixed rate. With what’s known as a 3-2-1 rate buydown, that homebuyer’s interest rate would be 3 percent in the first year of the loan, 4 percent in the second and 5 percent in the third, saving them potentially thousands of dollars along the way. The borrower must still qualify for the full monthly payment before the buydown adjustment.