# Fed Rate Hike Sparks Mortgage Rate Surge

> Fed rate hike pushes mortgage rates to nearly 7% as affordability concerns rise.
- Title: Fed Rate Hike Sparks Mortgage Rate Surge · Seattletimes
- Summary: Fed rate hike pushes mortgage rates to nearly 7% as affordability concerns rise. The Federal Reserve raised its key rate to 3.9% for the first time since…
- Keywords: federal reserve, mortgage rate, 30-year fixed rate, interest rate, affordability concerns, unemployment claims, retail sales, s&p 500, news, local, Fed, Rate
- Source: Seattletimes — https://seattletimes.com/business/america-in-focus-affordability-concerns-rise-as-fed-hikes-key-rate-mortgage-rate-reaches-nearly-7
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: federal reserve, mortgage rate, 30-year fixed rate, interest rate, affordability concerns, unemployment claims, retail sales, s&p 500, news, local
## Fed Raises Key Rate
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for the first time since 2023 in an effort to quell stubbornly high inflation.
## Mortgage Rates Reach Nearly 7%
The weekly average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate home loan climbed to 6.95% from 6.76% last week, its highest level in over 19 months.
## Fed Signals Second Rate Hike
The Fed signaled its rate-setting committee could raise the key rate a second time to 4.1% later this year.
## Affordability Concerns Rise
Rising costs for groceries, gas and housing are impacting household and business decisions as affordability takes on a leading role in upcoming midterm elections.
## Retail Sales Climb
Retail sales rose 1.2% in August after a revised 0.5% dip in July, beating economists' expectation of a 0.7% gain.
## Unemployment Claims Fall
Jobless claims slid to 196,000, the fewest since mid-July and down from 206,000 the previous week.
## Wall Street Stumbles
Wall Street closed with mixed results as the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell.
## Key takeaway

The Federal Reserve raised its key rate to 3.9% for the first time since 2023, causing 30-year fixed mortgage rates to climb to 6.95%, the highest level in over 19 months.