The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan jumped to 4.67%, mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday, marking the weekly figure’s highest reading since December 2018.
The 30-year fixed rate rose from 4.42% a week ago, continuing a steady rise that has pushed home-loan rates within sight of 5% for the first time in four years. This year’s surge in mortgage rates was hardly unforeseen, given the record lows reached in the pandemic period and concerns about high U.S. inflation readings, but it has unfolded faster than expected. At the beginning of the year, the average rate on America’s most popular home loan was 3.22%.