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The poetry of Cástulo Gregorich, Cuban exile....
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Saturday, October 14, 2023
I smell malaise in those new mortgage rates
(My new American Thinker post)
As I told a friend the other day, I remember 1982 and when it was very expensive to get a mortgage. I guess that I'm watching a rerun because I hear that mortgage rates are up again. Who knew that Biden economics would bring back malaise?
Let me share the bad news. This is from the Western Journal:
The cost of financing a home surged again this week as the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed to its highest level since December 2000, further dimming the affordability outlook for many would-be homebuyers.
The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.49% from 7.31% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.66%.Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loan, also increased. The average rate rose to 6.78% from 6.72% last week.
A year ago, it averaged 5.90%, Freddie Mac said.
It's a headache, as my friend in real estate told me. The buyers have to pay a higher mortgage interest rate and that makes it more difficult to afford a new home. The sellers do not want to trade their current low rates for a higher one. As the article explains, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now more than double what it was two years ago, when it was just 2.99%.
President Biden loves telling stories about his father. It's all about "Hey Joey" this or "Hey Joey" that. My guess is that Biden would say something like this about Biden economics: "Hey Joey, it stinks and you did it son."
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