The Zhitong Finance App notes that US mortgage interest rates have been rising for the seventh week in a row, to the highest level in nearly three years, worsening the housing affordability problem in the US.

Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose 19 basis points to 7.49% in the week ending October 2, the highest since November 2023, according to data released by the American Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday. This interest rate has accumulated a cumulative increase of about 0.5 percentage points over the past three weeks, the fastest increase since the beginning of 2023.

Since the outbreak of the war in Iran, energy costs and overall inflation have continued to rise, driving up 10-year US Treasury yields, while 10-year Treasury yields had a huge impact on mortgage interest rates, reaching their highest level since 2002 on Monday. Coupled with housing prices still high, mortgage interest rates are also hampering the growth of second-hand housing sales and new home sales.

The MBA Home Buying Index, which measures loan applications, fell 2.1% to its lowest level in more than a year. The MBA Refinance Index fell 7.5%, continuing the downward trend that began in mid-August.

The MBA survey has been conducted weekly since 1990. The sample is based on feedback from mortgage banks, commercial banks, and savings agencies. The data covers more than 75% of all retail home mortgage applications in the US.

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