Despite its recent upward move, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage is still down from 7.22 percent in May, its peak so far this year. In late September, the average rate got as low as 6.08 percent — its lowest level in two years.

Long-term mortgage costs have risen since the Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates in September as the yield curve has steepened.

US mortgage rates continued to climb, putting a further damper on refinancing and homebuying activity. The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage increased 8 basis points to 6.81% in the week ended Nov.

This uptick underscores the challenges facing the Federal Reserve, which began easing interest rates in September in response to declining price pressures and signs of a weaker labor market. The Fed slashed its benchmark rate by 0.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. rose for the sixth straight week, returning to its highest level since early July.

Several major lenders are increasing their fixed mortgage rates, despite the Bank of England cutting the base rate to 4.75 per cent on Thursday. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the bank rate from 5 per cent, in a widely expected move, although there are doubts there will be any further decreases this year.

Mortgage rates leveled off this week after climbing for six consecutives weeks, stalling along with demand in the stagnant housing market amid an affordability crisis.

It's easy to hold up sub-3% mortgage rates as the gold standard. Four years ago, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 2.65%. Bargain mortgage rates made it cheaper to purchase a house and refinance a mortgage,

The current median interest rate is 6.99% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and 6.25% for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage