Will US mortgage rates remain above 7 per cent?
If the average cost of a new US home loan holds above 7 per cent for a fifth week, it will be equal to the most painful run for homeowners since January 2002.
Mortgage rates have doubled since the Federal Reserve began tightening monetary policy 18 months ago, but rising borrowing costs have not had the expected effect of cooling house prices — a factor that would have made house moves more affordable.
Because most US homeowners hold 30-year fixed-rate loans, they have in effect been trapped in their properties because they cannot afford to switch from their existing low rates. Roughly three-quarters are paying less than 4 per cent, JPMorgan estimated recently.
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