Mortgage rates hit highest level since May 2024, impacting home sales and refinancing

Fed rate hikes have pushed 30‑year fixed mortgage rates to 7.12%, the highest level since May 2024, and the share of adjustable‑rate mortgages climbed to 9.8%. A recent Mortgage Bankers Association survey showed applications fell 1.5% nationally last week, while refinanced mortgage loans dropped 3% and the index fell more than 60% from September 2025.

In Connecticut, refinancing activity rose to nearly 12,900 loans last year, with Fairfield County homeowners accounting for more than half of that total—3,500 more refinanced mortgages than in 2024 and well below the 75,000‑plus homeowners who refinanced in 2012 and 2021. A Realtor.com economist notes that a short‑term rise in mortgage rates could prompt sellers to lower asking prices for the autumn market, and that the market already anticipates one or more Fed increases in 2026, which should be priced into long‑term rates.

Read the full story at nhregister.com.