Mortgage rates reached a 20-year high last week as the U.S. housing market continued its rapid slowdown, according to data released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), The Hill reported. The 30-year fixed rate climbed to 6.94 percent in the second week of October, up from 6.81 percent a week earlier, marking the highest 30-year rate since 2002. MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed an overall decrease in mortgage applications, including a dropoff in refinancing. The share of refinance applications fell to 28.3 percent of total applications. “The speed and level to which rates have climbed this year have greatly reduced refinance activity and exacerbated existing affordability challenges in the purchase market,” Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, said in a statement. Meanwhile, the share of adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) applications reached the highest level since 2008, rising to 12.8 percent of mortgage applications.
