Mortgage interest rates climbed to 6.73% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage during the week ending March 9, a tough blow for prospective buyers hoping for an improvement in affordability after a series of rate hikes at the close of 2022. The most recent uptick means today’s homebuyers will have to pay almost 50% more per month for their homes than they would have just a year earlier, and stubborn inflation may lead to even more increases over the coming months, Realtor.com reports.
Climbing housing costs threaten to undermine a market recovery at the start of what many housing experts had hoped would be a healthy spring buying season.
“Recent signs of a housing bottom have been encouraging, but the still-shifting financial and economic landscape makes it hard to pinpoint whether the floor is firm enough to withstand these new challenges,” says Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her most recent analysis. “In the meanwhile, that means housing activity is likely to continue roughly in line with its recent low pace of sales.”
Advertisement
Related Stories
Affordability
The Disappearing Act That Is Middle-Income Housing
An expert weighs in on the diminishing supply of middle-income housing, which is particularly acute in California, and what to do about it
Off-Site Construction
Utah Passes Bill to Regulate Modular Construction at the State Level
Goals for housing innovation and affordability meet in the Utah's passage of a new bill that establishes a statewide modular construction program
Affordability
Affordability Improves, but the Average Worker Still Struggles to Afford a Home
Homeownership around the U.S. continues to require historically large portions of worker wages, a new housing-affordability report finds
