The interest rate on America’s most popular home loan surged this week, surpassing its mid-summer high as federal regulators continue to wrestle with high inflation.

The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage — up for the third straight week — is now ever so close to the 6% mark, a level consumers have not seen in more than a decade.

Borrowing costs could easily continue their upward momentum, with the Federal Reserve planning more hikes to its trend-setting interest rate as it attempts to cool the economy and bring down high prices.

“It is very much our view, and my view, that we need to act now forthrightly, strongly and as we have been doing, and we need to keep at it until the job is done,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said this week at the annual Cato Institute Monetary Conference.

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The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 5.89% this week, up from 5.66% last week and 2.88% one year ago, housing finance giant Freddie Mac reported on Thursday.

“Mortgage rates rose again as markets continue to manage the prospect of more aggressive monetary policy due to elevated inflation,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Higher borrowing costs are depressing the housing market, as many would-be buyers can no longer afford to finance a home purchase with rates more than double what they were this time last year.

This week’s higher rate, however, is just an average. Borrowers who shop around can and do find lower rates.

“Our research indicates that borrowers could save an average of $1,500 over the life of a loan by getting one additional rate quote and an average of about $3,000 if they get five quotes,” Khater says.

The interest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.16% this week, up from 4.98% last week, Freddie Mac reports.

Last year at this time, the 15-year rate was averaging 2.19%.

Although housing activity typically tends to slow this time of year as kids go back to school and families get in one last summer road trip, the surge in mortgage rates weighed even more on the market over the Labor Day weekend, said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.

Fewer shoppers toured homes over the long weekend — and the share of sellers dropping their prices was near a record high, according to Redfin. New listings fell 18% year-over-year as rates spiked.

“I expect fall and winter to be especially frigid as sales dry up more than usual,” Fairweather said.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) rose to 4.64%, up from last week when it averaged 4.51%.

A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM was averaging 2.42%.

ARMs start with lower rates than longer-term loans, but after their initial terms, they adjust each year — up or down — in lockstep with the prime rate or another benchmark.

If longer-term rates were to fall after the initial period of an ARM, a borrower could potentially refinance into a lower rate. But there’s no guarantee rates will go down. They could easily be higher depending on the state of the economy.

Demand for mortgages has been on a downward slide as the cost of borrowing grows.

Mortgage applications fell 0.8% last week, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The number of applications to refinance existing loans fell 1% from a week ago — and compared with last year, refis are down a shocking 83%.

Applications to purchase homes were also down by 1% last week and 23% from the same week one year ago.

“There is no sign of a rebound in purchase applications yet, but the robust job market and an increase in housing inventories should lead to an eventual increase in purchase activity,” Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s chief economist, said this week.

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The Federal Reserve has to use its judgment to bring inflation down along with the ever-present risk of a recession, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday.

You can't time the housing market. Housing prices, of course, vary by market, but on a national level, they have climbed steadily since the 1960s, according to data from the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve. Mortgage rates, which have basically doubled from 2.9% a year ago to 5.89% as of Sept. 8, are a factor, but waiting for rates to drop is a dangerous game.

This past week, average 30-year mortgage rates crossed the 6% mark — though many borrowers can still snag lower lower rates than that — after staying below that for most of July and August, Bankrate data revealed. Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, says the economy will slow faster than inflation so more yo-yo action with rates should be expected in September, but it won’t be huge swings we’re seeing. According to the National Association of Realtors, (NAR), data is showing that mortgage rates have already priced in the upcoming Fed rate hikes.

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Human rights activists in the Philippines rejected on Saturday President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s move to proclaim the birthday of his late father, an ousted dictator, a special holiday in their northern home province. Marcos Jr., who took office in June after a landslide election victory, authorized the declaration of the non-working public holiday in Ilocos Norte province on Monday for celebrations marking the 105th birth anniversary of his namesake father. “It is but fitting and proper that the people of the province of Ilocos Norte be given the full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies,” said the presidential proclamation, which was signed by Marcos Jr.’s executive secretary and posted on Facebook.

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It was 2019 when officials in North Carolina got the call that Cree – now known as Wolfspeed – was picking Marcy, New York, over Durham for a $1 billion fabrication operation. Wolfspeed (NYSE: WOLF) is about as homegrown a story as you can get. The $5 billion, 1,800-job semiconductor materials manufacturing facility coming to Chatham County was approved for a total state incentives package worth $159.4 million.

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