The US entity -also known as Freddie Mac-, indicated that the average for a 30-year, fixed loan was 6.7%, up from 6.29% last week.

Historically low mortgage rates fueled the pandemic housing rally, but borrowing costs have more than doubled since starting the year near 3%.

The rapid jump has undermined buying power for house hunters and dragged down real estate prices as the Federal Reserve tries to tackle inflation.

“The uncertainty and volatility in financial markets is heavily impacting mortgage rates,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Mortgage rates dipped briefly below 5% at the beginning of August, but have now increased nearly 2 percentage points since then.

US pending home sales dropped in August for the seventh time this year, dropping to the lowest level since 2011, excluding the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, according to the National Association of Realtors’ index released Wednesday.

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