Mortgage rates pushed to a fresh two-decade high this week, making it tougher for the housing market to emerge from its stark slowdown.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage came with an interest rate of 7.23%, according to data published Thursday by Freddie Mac. Some borrowers are paying even loftier rates. The rate was 7.09% a week ago, its first time above 7% since last fall.
The new high is a turnabout from two years earlier, when borrowing rates were below 3%, near record lows. Millions of people were rushing to buy homes and refinance. Now, financing a typical home purchase costs hundreds of thousands of dollars more in interest.
Read the full story on The Wall Street Journal here.