Another day, another piece of inflationary data. June's Consumer Price Index showed a 5 percent year-over-year increase in what is now the largest annual Cost of Living increase for Americans in 17 years.
This is bad news for both home buyers and homeowners in want of a new mortgage because rising costs are inflationary and inflation causes mortgage rates to move higher.
Predictably, mortgage rates jumped Wednesday morning after the CPI data was released and they edged higher throughout the rest of the day.
This morning, mortgage rates were higher again on unexpected strength in housing starts and building permits across the country.
On most mortgage products, rates are now higher by 0.250 or more since Tuesday. This is equivalent to $192 in extra mortgage payments per year per $100,000 borrowed.
(Image courtesy: The New York Times)
