Mortgage Rates Top 4% for First Time Since July

Mortgage rates rose, with the 30-year average topping 4% for the first time in five months, after the Federal Reserve's decision to increase its benchmark lending rate.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.01%, up from 3.96% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday, while the average 15-year rate climbed to 3.24% from 3.22%.

The central bank's first interest-rate increase in nine years is pushing up home-loan costs just before the start of the peak selling season in the U.S.

Mortgage rates near record lows along with a tight supply of available homes have helped support a recovery in prices, while job gains have boosted demand.

The 30-year average will climb to 4.7% by the fourth quarter of 2016, according to a projection by Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac's chief economist.

Bloomberg News
Originations Housing
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