The 30-year mortgage rate tops 7%, a first since January 2025. On a $400,000 loan, that's about $276 a month more than in late February.

Pour a cup and brace yourself. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 7.03% this week from 6.95%, the first time above 7% since January 2025 and the fifth straight weekly increase, the Associated Press reports via the Los Angeles Times, citing Freddie Mac. A year ago it was 6.30%. In late February the rate briefly dipped to 5.98%, its lowest since late 2022, and the AP figures the roughly one-point climb since then adds about $276 a month for a borrower financing a $400,000 loan. "Beyond the immediate financial constraints, the 7% threshold is a foreboding psychological barrier," said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, who warned that crossing it "could create a chilling effect on the market" and slow home sales this fall. Mortgage applications fell 1.5% last week, the third straight weekly drop, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, and adjustable-rate loans, which typically start at lower rates, made up nearly 10% of applications. The 15-year rate rose to 6.42%, which will discourage some owners hoping to refinance. Meanwhile the Federal Reserve raised its key rate for the first time in three years to tame surging inflation, and traders see close to a coin flip's chance of two more hikes by year's end, per CME Group data. Store-owner math: $276 a month is $3,312 a year. That's a used car, a semester of community college or a lot of groceries, and it goes to interest instead of into town. Kitchen-table translation: a mortgage rate is the market's price for money, and right now it's telling us inflation isn't beaten. No speech from either party can wish it lower. If you're buying, get quotes from several lenders, ask exactly how and when an adjustable rate can change, and don't stretch past a payment you could still carry if times get tighter.