Mortgage Rates Jump to 7.30% After Inflation Report

For a month, mortgage rates drifted lower like a leaf on a slow river. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, a hot inflation report flipped the current: the average top tier 30-year fixed rate climbed 0.12 percentage point to 7.30%, according to Mortgage News Daily's daily index ^[1].

That was the biggest single-day jump in over a month, Mortgage News Daily's Matthew Graham wrote, ending a streak in which the worst day had added only 0.06 point ^[1].

How we got here

• On Monday, Nov. 9, the same index read 7.18%, its second best level since September 14th ^[1].
• The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in October, a hotter print than forecasters expected, HousingWire reported ^[3].
• Zillow data shared with Yahoo Finance put the 30-year purchase rate at 6.98% on Nov. 11, up 5 basis points in a day ^[2].
• HousingWire's own rate center showed 30-year fixed loans averaging 7.35% on Tuesday, with FHA loans at 7.22% ^[3].

But the rate gauges do not agree on the level. Mortgage News Daily shows 7.30% ^[1], HousingWire 7.35% ^[3], and Zillow 6.98% ^[2], since each surveys different loans and lenders. They do agree on direction: rates turned up after the CPI report, though Zillow's figure was still 12 basis points below the prior week ^[2]. Graham noted the Fed has said inflation is its bigger focus right now, so this report carried more weight than the jobs data ^[1].

What it means for you

On a $400,000, 30-year loan, monthly principal and interest is about $2,710 at 7.18% and about $2,742 at 7.30%, by our math, roughly $33 more each month. That is small for one day, but buyers are already very payment sensitive, mortgage broker Shannon Hoff told HousingWire ^[3]. Seller concessions and rate buydowns can matter more than a tenth of a point, according to brokers HousingWire interviewed ^[3].

Zoom out

Even after the jump, rates sit well under the 7.6% plus levels of early October, Mortgage News Daily said ^[1]. First American economist Sam Williamson told HousingWire that hotter inflation likely stretches out the wait for real relief ^[3].