Average long-term US mortgage rate jumps to 7.23% this week to highest level since June 2001

By ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed further above 7% this week to its highest level since 2001, another blow to prospective homebuyers grappling with rising home prices and a stubbornly low supply of properties on the market. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan climbed to 7.23% from 7.09% last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 5.55%. It’s the fifth consecutive weekly increase for the average rate. High rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already unaffordable to many Americans.