US Mortgage Rates Rise for Seventh Straight Week, Climbing to 7.4%

US mortgage rates increased for seven straight weeks for the first time in three years, adding pressure to an already weak housing market.

The average for a 30-year, fixed loan rose to 7.4% from 7.28% a week earlier, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. The rate is now the highest since November 2023. A year ago, it was 6.3%.

The return of mortgage rates above 7% is deepening a housing-affordability crisis that’s taking center stage with midterm elections less than four weeks away. Would-be buyers across the country are being squeezed by borrowing costs and home values that remain close to historic highs.

“US housing affordability remains near its worst level since the global financial crisis, with a market that’s effectively frozen,” analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. wrote Wednesday in a research note to clients. “Insurance and property taxes are also turning into a second affordability shock, layered on top of high prices and elevated mortgage rates.”

Read More: Mortgage Rates Near 7.5% Make Housing a Midterm Flashpoint

The monthly mortgage payment on a typical home was 6.7% higher in September than a year earlier, according to Zillow Group Inc. And that’s before rising property taxes and insurance costs. Meanwhile, consumers also are contending with higher prices at gas stations and grocery stores.

At current rates, homeowners would pay about $172 more a month in principal and interest on a $500,000 property and almost $345 more on a $1 million property than if they had locked in a mortgage four weeks ago. The calculation assumes a 20% down payment.

As 30-year fixed rates have jumped, borrowers are looking for ways to lower their monthly payments, at least temporarily. The share of adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, surged to 12.2% in early October, the highest in four years, according to weekly rate-lock data from Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

ARMs typically start with a lower rate that’s fixed for five, seven or 10 years before adjusting periodically based on market rates.

“When you see the 30-year fixed rate putting affordability pressure on people, those adjustable mortgages give them a little bit of breathing room,” said Andy Walden , who heads mortgage and housing market research at Intercontinental Exchange.