Mortgage Rates hits High not seen since the Year 2000

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate this week climbed to 8%, reaching that level for the first time since 2000, according to Mortgage News Daily.

The milestone arrives after months of rate increases. As recently as last April, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood below 5%, Mortgage News Daily data shows.

An aggressive series of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve since last year has pushed up the 10-year Treasury bond yield, which loosely tracks with long-term mortgage rates.

The Fed has increased interest rates to fight elevated inflation, attempting to slash price hikes by slowing the economy and choking off demand.

While inflation has fallen significantly from a peak of about 9% last summer, price increases remain more than a percentage point higher than the Fed’s inflation target.