Seven consecutive weeks of gains! US 30-year mortgage rate soars to 7.49%, hitting a near three-year high.

Note that U.S. mortgage rates have climbed for a seventh consecutive week, rising to the highest level in nearly three years, compounding America's housing affordability problems. Data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday showed that in the week ending October 2, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose 19 basis points to 7.49%, the highest since November 2023. Over the past three weeks, the rate has risen by a cumulative roughly 0.5 percentage point, the fastest increase since early 2023. Since the outbreak of the Iran war, energy costs and overall inflation have continued to climb, pushing up the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which has a huge impact on mortgage rates and reached its highest level since 2002 on Monday. Combined with still-high home prices, mortgage rates have also hindered the growth momentum of existing home sales and new home sales. The MBA purchase index, which measures loan application volume, fell 2.1% to its lowest level in more than a year. The MBA refinance index dropped 7.5%, extending a decline that began in mid-August. The MBA survey has been conducted weekly since 1990, with samples drawn from feedback from mortgage banks, commercial banks and savings institutions, covering more than 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.