Mortgage Rates Rising, Could Impact Refinancing

Fixed-mortgage rates in the U.S. are trending higher for a third consecutive week, putting pressure on refinance momentum, according to Freddie Mac’s recently released Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

That could help credit unions, which get a good amount of loans from mortgage refinancings. “Higher rates may initially boost originations by drawing purchasers into the market and convincing those who haven’t refinanced to do so before rates increase further—in both cases a ‘get while the getting’s good’ response,” Mike Schenk, vice president of economics and statistics for the Credit Union National Association, told News Now.

“We think most people who can refinance have already done so, but also know there is a tremendous amount of pent-up demand, improving labor markets—higher confidence, higher incomes—and high affordability despite the rate increases,” he added.

Despite the upward trend, mortgage rates remain low, helping to keep homebuyer affordability high, which should further aid home sales and construction in coming weeks, Freddie said.

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