Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s weekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it each Friday afternoon.
- According to the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® from Freddie Mac, released October 12, 2023, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) sits at 7.57%, while the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage stands at 6.89%. This represents the fifth consecutive weekly increase in mortgage rates.
- During the previous week of October 5, 2023, the 30-year mortgage rate stood at 7.49% (meaning a 0.08% increase this week), and the 15-year mortgage was 6.78% (a 0.11% increase this week). If weekly increases continue, it’s possible that mortgage rates could reach 8%.
- Mortgage rates first hit 7% almost a year ago on October 28, 2022. And while they’ve moved up and down since that time, they’ve generally remained within the 6% – 7% range.
- Mortgage applications increased slightly the week of October 11, rising 0.06%, according to the latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
- Bloomberg reports that the average homeowning family spends 27.3% of its annual income on mortgage payments.
- In an emailed statement, National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said of the escalating rates: “The highest mortgage rate in two decades is detrimentally limiting the homeownership opportunity for many middle-class households. Unintentionally, no doubt, the Federal Reserve is widening social inequality with only the high-income families—earning above $100,000—able to comfortably buy a home.”
- Mortgage business Hometown Lenders has announced layoffs and a transition from a retail model to a broker one.
Devin Meenan is an assistant editor with RISMedia.
