The average rate for a benchmark 30-year mortgage jumped 23 basis points (0.23 percentage points) over the past week to 3.92 percent, which is 39.5 percent higher than the average rate of 2.81 percent at the same time last year and the highest average rate since May of 2019.
At the same time, the average rate for a 5-year adjustable rate mortgage jumped to 2.98 percent, which is 43 percent higher than at the same time last year, and the average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 3.15 percent, which is over 50 percent higher than at the same time last year.
And with bond traders now projecting a quarter point rate hike by the Fed next month and a total of six quarter point increases by the end of the year, expect mortgage rates to continue to climb past 4 percent, translating into less purchasing power for buyers, downward pressure on home values, and a tightening of credit, none of which should catch any plugged-in readers by surprise.