Mortgage
rates
posted
a
big
jump
last
week
after
Wednesday’s
release
of
a
higher-than-expected
inflation
report.

As
a
result,

HousingWire’s
Mortgage
Rates
Center
showed
the
average
30-year
fixed
rate
for
conventional
loans
at
7.24%
on
Tuesday,
up
from
7.16%
one
week
earlier.
That’s
roughly
40
basis
points
above
the
rate
at
the
start
of
the
year.
At
the
same
time
one
year
ago,
the
30-year
fixed
rate
averaged
6.42%.
Meanwhile,
the
15-year
fixed
rate
averaged
6.64%
on
Tuesday,
up
from
6.41%
one
week
earlier.

As
the
market
enters
the
peak
homebuying
season,
last
week’s
above-consensus

inflation
figures
brought
the

mortgage
market
back
to
a
sour
reality:
The
average
30-year
fixed
mortgage
rate
may
be
close
to
or
above
the
7%
level
for
longer
than
previously
expected.

“As
mortgage
rates
increase,
it’s
never
good
news
for
the
housing
market,
especially
when
more
sellers
are
in
the
mix,”

HousingWire
lead
analyst
Logan
Mohtashami
said.
“We
saw
a
bounce
in
demand
early
in
the
year
as
rates
fell.
However,
just
like
last
year,
when
mortgage
rates
headed
higher,
it
limits
sales
growth.”

As
of
April
12,
there
were
526,000

active
single-family
listings
on
the
market,
up
2.6%
from
the
previous
week,
according
to

Altos
Research.
This
uptick
in
inventory
is
a
function
of
high
and

rising
mortgage
rates,
according
to
Mike
Simonsen,
founder
and
president
of

Altos
Research. 

Additionally,
there
were
66,000
new
listings
unsold
last
week
plus
another
20,000
immediate
sales
for
86,000
total
new
listings,
up
32%
from
the
same
week
a
year
ago.

Last
week,
the


U.S.
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics
reported
that
consumer
prices
were
up
3.5%
in
March
compared
to
a
year
earlier.
Investors
reacted
by
adjusting
their
expectations
for
the
number
of
rate
cuts
from
the


Federal
Reserve
this
year. 

At
the
end
of
2023,
many
investors
anticipated
six
rate
cuts
for
the
year.
A
few
weeks
ago,
three
cuts
became
the
expected
norm.
Now
it’s
two
or
fewer
cuts,
and
some
experts
—
like
former
Treasury
Secretary

Lawrence
Summers
—
have
included
a
rate
hike
in
their
scenarios,
although
the
likelihood
of
that
remains
low.

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