Mortgage Rates for 30-Year Loans Rise to Highest Since August

(Bloomberg) -- Mortgage rates rose for a second straight week, pushing borrowing costs for homebuyers to the highest level in almost three months.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 3.75%, up from 3.69% last week and matching the level in early August, Freddie Mac data showed Thursday. The 15-year average climbed to 3.18% from 3.15%.

Home purchases have struggled to gain momentum as rising prices and tight supplies of affordable properties in many parts of the country hold back buyers. Sales of previously owned homes slipped in September to the slowest pace in three months, the National Association of Realtors said this week. Would-be buyers still have a chance to lock in rates that are more than a percentage point lower than they were a year earlier.

Rates for 30-year loans are expected to remain below 4% through 2020, according to Alison Williams, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. That should support 7% growth in home purchases this year, she wrote in a report this week.

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