How Much House Can You Afford This Week?

Mortgage rates climb, but there's more to the story if you're looking to buy a house this month. [SPONSORED]

Bankrate, Brand Partner

Posted Fri, Oct 6, 2017 at 5:54 pm ET|Updated Fri, Oct 6, 2017 at 6:05 pm ET

Mortgage rates are on the rise this week, but they remain a bargain compared to the peaks seen earlier this year. Even still, buyers across the country don't seem to be budging. The culprit? Hurricane season.

Lenders indicate homeowners haven’t been rushing to score low rates while they can partly due to the recent series of major hurricanes. So while there's still time for homebuyers to get a mortgage at a fairly low rate, a big purchase like buying a home is a bit to scary at this point in October for a lot of folks.

What's that mean for the housing market in your neck of the woods? Take a look at local mortgage rates, then find out if we can expect a comeback soon.

Economy, rates likely to perk up

In the statement following its recent policy meeting, the Federal Reserve said the hurricanes were “unlikely to materially alter the course of the national economy over the medium term.”

As the economy recovers from the storms, consumers are likely to become more comfortable with larger purchases, like a home.

“The underlying trends suggest that the current solid pace of growth should continue in the near term,” says Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research at The Conference Board, in a news release. And that could keep the Fed on track to continue raising short-term interest rates and unwinding its massive bond portfolio, which is expected to push up long-term interest rates — including mortgage rates.

Lock Into A Low Rate Today

This Week's Breakdown

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose this week to 4.06 percent from 4.03 percent, according to Bankrate’s weekly survey of large lenders. That’s the highest since the average hit 4.09 percent on July 26. Get a free monthly estimate with Bankrate's mortgage calculator.

The 30-year fixed mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.29 discount and origination points. Over the past 52 weeks, the 30-year fixed has averaged 4.11 percent. This week’s rate is 0.05 percentage points lower than the 52-week average.