Mortgage rates rise to 5.5% as volatility continues
CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 7/14/2022, 9:59 a.m.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.51% in the week ending July 14, up from 5.3% the week before, according to Freddie Mac and pictured houses in the Cavanaugh subdivision of Meridian, Idaho, on June 30.
Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Erickson/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Originally Published: 14 JUL 22 10:14 ET
By Anna Bahney, CNN Business
(CNN) -- Mortgage rates are on the rise again after a dramatic drop last week.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.51% in the week ending July 14, up from 5.3% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. That is significantly higher than this time last year when it was 2.88%
Rates rose sharply at the start of the year, hitting a high of 5.81% in mid-June. But since then, economic concerns have pushed them lower, with rates last week notching the biggest one week dip since 2008.
Mortgage rates continue to be volatile as the US economy slows and the Federal Reserve raises interest rates in order to cool inflation, said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist.
"With rates the highest in over a decade, home prices at escalated levels, and inflation continuing to impact consumers, affordability remains the main obstacle to homeownership for many Americans," said Khater.
