The average rate for a 30-year mortgage fixed-rate loan reached 3.45% as of last week according to Freddie Mac. This rate increased from 3.22% the week earlier as finance experts continue to predict the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. These predictions are causing mortgage rates to jump as they are linked to the 10-year U.S. Treasury.
Common sentiment points to this dampening demand as it will push some buyers out of a housing market that’s already at record highs in terms of sales prices. However, amidst a significant seller’s market, these rate increases could also start the correction of the housing market by decreasing the number of buyers present and taking some of the power away from sellers that they’ve used to drive the median sale price up to $353,900 nationwide, as of November 2021. This was 13.9% higher than the previous year.