Mortgage rates hit a 20-year high on Thursday as bonds sold off. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.51%, up from 5.39% the previous week. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.75%, up from 4.63%.
The sell-off in bonds was driven by a number of factors, including rising inflation and concerns about a potential recession. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.12%, its highest level since 2011.
The rise in mortgage rates is bad news for homebuyers, who will now have to pay more to borrow money. It could also slow down the housing market, which has been booming in recent months.
Other key takeaways from the mortgage market news on Thursday include:
- MBS prices are holding steady in a new low range.
- Bonds are down 19 basis points, while stocks are up 7.42%.
- Jobless claims came in at 239k, slightly below expectations.
- The Philly Fed index came in at 12, beating expectations.
- Prices paid index came in at 20.8, above expectations.
- There are rare protests in China as one of their largest asset managers has missed about a dozen debt payments.
- The Fed minutes showed that both the staff and the participants characterized economic growth as “moderate.”
- The Atlanta Fed GDP Now estimate has Q3 GDP coming in at 5.8%.
- We need to be aware that we are in a trend of rising rates, and that it can still get worse.
- In Q2 2023, total household debt was $17.06 trillion, up trivially from Q1 2023.
- Housing debt now comprises 70.7% of debt, up from 67.7% in Q4 2019.
- The average IMB lost $534 per loan in Q2 2023, a big improvement from Q1.