Weekly Mortgage Rates Rise for 6th Straight Week

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Written by Holden Lewis
Senior Writer/Spokesperson
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Edited by Jeanette Margle
Lead Assigning Editor

You could illustrate the dictionary definition of "bummer" with a graph of recent mortgage rates.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has now climbed for six weeks in a row. It averaged 6.75% in the week ending Oct. 31, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow. That's up 15 basis points from the previous week, and up 86 basis points compared to six weeks ago. A basis point is one-one hundredth of a percentage point.

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Economic growth brings higher rates

Because a robust economy pushes upward on mortgage rates, the economy is performing a frustrating balancing act: Encouraging news ends up discouraging people from buying houses or refinancing their home loans.

"Despite easing inflation, surprisingly strong economic data caused Treasury yields and the mortgage rates that shadow them to continue to climb," said Orphe Divounguy, senior economist for Zillow. "What we saw in the data was strong income growth, which supports consumer spending."

Increased consumer spending, in turn, can slow progress on reducing the inflation rate. That's how a strong economy ends up making it more expensive to borrow money to buy a home.

Slower progress on inflation

This week’s news on inflation is mixed. The Federal Reserve's favored inflation measurement, the PCE price index, showed an overall decline in the annual inflation rate, to 2.1% in September from 2.3% in August.

But the core PCE price index, which strips out the volatile prices for food and energy, remained at 2.7% for the third month in a row. The Fed's goal is to push the core PCE price index down to 2%.

The central bank made progress on inflation for a while: The core PCE price inflation rate fell from 3.7% in September 2023 to 2.6% in June. But as the inflation rate bumped upward and then stalled out, it's no coincidence that mortgage rates bounced higher in October.

Mortgage loans from our partners

NBKC - PURCHASE logo
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NBKC - PURCHASE logo

4.5

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620

Min. down payment 
3%

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on NBKC

New American Funding - PURCHASE logo
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on New American Funding

New American Funding

4.5

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New American Funding - PURCHASE logo

4.5

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500

Min. down payment 
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on New American Funding

GO Mortgage - PURCHASE logo
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on GO Mortgage

GO Mortgage

4.0

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GO Mortgage - PURCHASE logo

4.0

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Min. credit score 
620

Min. down payment 
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Mortgage loans from our partners

NBKC - PURCHASE logo
Check Rate

on NBKC

NBKC

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
NBKC - PURCHASE logo

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Min. credit score 
620

Min. down payment 
3%

Check Rate

on NBKC

New American Funding - PURCHASE logo
Check Rate

on New American Funding

New American Funding

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
New American Funding - PURCHASE logo

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Min. credit score 
500

Min. down payment 
3.5%

Check Rate

on New American Funding

GO Mortgage - PURCHASE logo
Check Rate

on GO Mortgage

GO Mortgage

4.0

NerdWallet rating 
GO Mortgage - PURCHASE logo

4.0

NerdWallet rating 
Min. credit score 
620

Min. down payment 
3%

Check Rate

on GO Mortgage

Rocket Mortgage - PURCHASE logo
Check Rate

on Rocket Mortgage

Rocket Mortgage

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Rocket Mortgage - PURCHASE logo

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Min. credit score 
580

Min. down payment 
3.5%

Check Rate

on Rocket Mortgage

Veterans United - PURCHASE logo
Check Rate

on Veterans United

Veterans United

5.0

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Veterans United - PURCHASE logo

5.0

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Min. credit score 
620

Min. down payment 
0%

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How higher rates affect buying power

Homeowners have recoiled from refinancing at these higher interest rates, but home buyers are still applying for loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's despite a significant reduction in buying power in just a month.

Consider a buyer who can afford to pay $2,000 a month in principal and interest. In the last week of September, that buyer could afford to borrow $327,900 at that week's average interest rate of 6.16%.

But at this week's average rate of 6.75%, that buyer could afford to borrow $301,600. That's a $26,300 reduction in borrowing capacity in one month because of the higher mortgage rate.

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