Swift Rise in Yields Pushes Up Mortgages

By NICK TIMIRAOS And MARK GONGLOFF
The sudden jump in Treasury yields has driven 30-year mortgage rates above 5%, keeping pressure on the struggling housing market and countering the Federal Reserve's efforts to help the economy.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a six-month high of 5.09% on Thursday, according to a survey by data tracker HSH Associates. A separate survey by Freddie Mac showed rates averaged 4.83% for the week ending Thursday, up from a record low 4.17% just one month ago.

"I've been doing this 15 years, and I've never seen rates rise this fast," said Wade Douroux, president and CEO of Resource Financial Services, a mortgage banking firm in Columbia, S.C.

Rising mortgage rates are one immediate consequence of the unusually large jump in Treasury yields in recent weeks. The yield on the 10-year note, which directly affects mortgage rates, closed Thursday at 3.473%, up from its October low of 2.382%.