30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Jumps to 7.45% — SkimNews
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- Mortgage News Daily reported the average 30-year fixed rate hit 7.45% on Thursday, up 19 basis points from 7.26% the prior day after the 10-year Treasury yield surged.
- The 7% threshold was first breached on September 10th following inflation reports that raised the risk of a Fed rate hike, according to Mortgage News Daily COO Matthew Graham.
- The 30-year fixed had bottomed at 5.99% in late February before rising at the start of the war with Iran, then climbing again in September after the Federal Reserve lifted its benchmark rate.
- Freddie Mac said earlier Thursday the rate had crossed 7%, but that figure was a weekly average, not a same-day reading like Mortgage News Daily's.
- The afternoon bond selloff driving rates higher had no obvious trigger — Graham said: 'Sellers decided to sell... a lot,' with no objective way to connect the dots.
- The rate spike compounds existing pressure on a housing market already grappling with high home prices, weak consumer confidence, and a thin supply of affordable homes.
Why it matters: At 7.45%, the 30-year fixed is roughly 146 basis points above its late-February low of 5.99%, adding hundreds of dollars to monthly payments for new buyers entering a market already short on affordable supply. The afternoon leg had no identifiable catalyst, meaning rates moved on pure momentum rather than fresh economic data, leaving little floor if selling continues.
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