Rates Rose to 2011 High

The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 4.94 percent in the week of November 8, 2018, according to government-backed lender Freddie Mac.

The week's rate reflected a gain of 11 basis points, the highest for the loan product since February 2011. Both the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage and the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage increased 10 basis points for the week, averaging 4.14 percent and 4.33 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, bond yields are growing as the federal government is expected to issue more debt to fund the burgeoning national deficit, MarketWatch reports. 

In the housing market, meanwhile, the slow and steady upward march of mortgage rates is taking a toll. With options scarce and affordability stretched, higher borrowing costs are thwarting buyers like Andy and Emerline Hunte. The Huntes and their two boys have been searching for a house for two years, while sticking it out in a cramped basement apartment in the East New York section of Brooklyn. Saving for a down payment has been “arduous,” Andy told MarketWatch. “We may end up dipping into our 401(k) to put 20 percent down in order to not carry mortgage insurance.”

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