Mortgage rates continued their climb for the third week in a row and have now reached levels not seen since 2008, according to the Freddie Mac weekly mortgage survey for the week ending September 8th.
- 30-year fixed: Saw a big 23 basis point jump to average 5.89%, this is 301 basis points higher than one year ago.
- 15-year fixed: Jumped 18 basis points to 5.16%, this is 297 basis points higher than one year ago.
Volatility. Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, said rates continue to rise but the volatility is creating a big variance between mortgage companies. “Not only are mortgage rates rising but the dispersion of rates has increased, suggesting that borrowers can meaningfully benefit from shopping around for a better rate. Our research indicates that borrowers could save an average of $1,500 over the life of a loan by getting one additional rate quote and an average of about $3,000 if they get five quotes.”
Big swings. Rates are now up 90 basis points in just five weeks. Rates peaked in late June at 5.81% and then slowly fell to under 5.0% at the start of August. However, some tough talk from the Fed has pushed rates back to levels, not since November 26th, 2008 when rates had fallen to 5.98% from the high that year of 6.74%.