Mortgage rates reach highs not seen in six months

“Mortgage rates steadily increased this week, ending the week moderately higher,” Paul Thomas, vice president of capital markets at Zillow, wrote in an email. “The September jobs report, released last Friday, was generally viewed as ‘meeting the bar’ for the Federal Reserve to begin tapering asset purchases. Minutes from the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) continue to point toward tapering starting at the end of the year, in line with current market expectations, which may jolt rates higher entering the new year.”