Average mortgage rate rises to 6.48%

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The big increase in mortgage rates has sunk the housing market, with sales of existing homes falling for 10 straight months to the lowest level in more than a decade.

Andrew Russell, founder and owner of mortgage broker RCG Mortgage in Hauppauge, said he has seen significant activity from borrowers seeking preapproval for loans in the first week of the year. He believes it might take a few months for many of those borrowers to reach deals to purchase, which will present challenges for some mortgage companies after a slow end to 2022.

After mortgage rates more than doubled last year, Russell said he is expecting rates to fall somewhat later in 2023 or at least provide the consistency lenders need to offer attractive loan products.

“The issue with volatility is it’s hard for lenders to offer stable pricing when they don’t know if tomorrow there will be a huge deterioration,” he said. “The volatility is affecting what is offered to clients.”

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