Mortgage rates move closer to 7%, but housing demand holds up ahead of Fed meeting

Mortgage rates continued to climb this week and are now approaching 7% for locked loans across all borrower credit profiles. But home purchase and refinance demand hasn’t fallen steeply despite the increased affordability pressures. On Tuesday, HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center showed that rates for 30-year conforming loans averaged 6.94%, up 9 basis points from one week ago. Rates for 30-year jumbo loans also averaged 6.94%, up 10 bps in the past week, while rates for 30-year Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans rose 8 bps to 6.63%. Rates have increased gradually since bottoming out near 6.15% for 30-year conforming products in March. But last week’s application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed that borrower demand remains resilient despite the upward trend, as applications were up 1.9% during the week ending July 17. Compared to the same period a year ago, refinance demand was up 7% while purchase demand was essentially flat. “Mortgage applications rebounded last week despite mortgage rates increasing, reflecting the continued strength of homebuyer demand,” Bob Broeksmit, the MBA’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “As inventory improves in ma...