Skip to main content

Spike in mortgage rates not derailing recovery

The benchmark 30-year mortgage rate has risen from 3.6% two months ago to 4.7% last week.  The effect on remortgaging volumes has been considerable – applications for remortgaging have halved in the space of two months. But applications for home purchase are the better indicator of underlying housing demand, and they have held up much better. Applications managed to edge up by 0.1% m/m during June and have risen by 11.7% over the past year. Meanwhile, home sales rose by 4% m/m in May and the pending home sales index points to another increase in June. With price gains still going strong, there are few signs that the rise in rates will derail the housing recovery.

Become a client to read more

This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.

Already have an account?

You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.

Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it

Register for free

Sign up for a free account to gain:

  • Unlock additional content
  • Register for Capital Economics events
  • Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
  • Request a free trial of our services


Get access