The average rate for a conforming 30-year mortgage increased another 11 basis points over the past week to 3.98 percent, the highest rate since July. The average 30-year rate is now 39 basis point above the 2015 low of 3.59 percent recorded in early February and within 3 basis points of the 4.01 percent average recorded at the same time last year.
And with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen having referred to a December rate hike as a ‘live possibility,’ followed by a strong October jobs report, the probability of hike in the Fed Funds rate by the end of the year has jumped from 30 percent four weeks ago to 70 percent today in the eyes of the futures market.
The benchmark 30-year rate, which hit an all-time low of 3.31 percent in November 2012 and a three-year high of 4.58 percent in August 2013, has averaged around 6.7 percent over the past two decades.