You could illustrate the dictionary definition of “disappointment” with a graph of recent mortgage rates.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate has now increased for six consecutive weeks. It averaged 6.75% during the week ending Oct. 31, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow. This represents an increase of 15 basis points from the previous week and 86 basis points from six weeks ago. One basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point.

Because a robust economy pushes upward mortgage ratesthe economy performs a frustrating balancing act: encouraging news ends up discouraging people from buying a home or refinancing their mortgages.

“Despite a slowdown in inflation, surprisingly strong economic data has led to a continued rise in Treasury yields and the mortgage rates that follow them,” said Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow. “What we saw in the data was strong income growth, which is supporting consumer spending.”

Increased consumer spending may, in turn, slow progress in reducing the inflation rate. This is how a strong economy ends up making it more expensive to borrow money to buy a home.

This week’s inflation news is mixed. THE Federal ReserveThe United States’ preferred measure of inflation, the PCE price index, showed an overall decline in the annual inflation rate, to 2.1% in September from 2.3% in August.

But the core PCE price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, remained at 2.7% for the third straight month. The Fed’s goal is to lower the core PCE price index to 2%.

The central bank has been making progress on inflation for a while: the PCE core price inflation rate fell from 3.7% in September 2023 to 2.6% in June. But while the inflation rate rose and then stabilized, it’s no coincidence that mortgage rates rebounded in October.

The owners backed away from refinancing at these higher interest rates, but home buyers are still applying for loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. And this despite a significant reduction in purchasing power in just one month.

Let’s take the example of a buyer who can afford to pay $2,000 per month in principal and interest. During the last week of September, this buyer could afford to borrow $327,900 at the average interest rate of 6.16% for that week.