The 30-year mortgage rate is back above 7% for the first time since March

• The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage topped 7% this week for the first time since March.
• Applications for home purchases also slipped 4.3% in the week ending May 19, MBA data shows.

The rate on the most popular US mortgage just jumped back above 7% for the first time since March.

According to Bankrate, on Wednesday the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage hit 7.06%, up 12 basis points from last week.

Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite Index, a gauge of mortgage loan application volume, declined 4.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ending May 19. It was the second consecutive weekly decline.

The Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes have made the rate-sensitive housing market increasingly volatile, and the current landscape holds a sharp contrast from the pandemic-era low mortgage rates of around 3%.

Political uncertainty has also cut into the property market. Debt-ceiling talks in Washington DC continue to stall, mortgage rates have climbed through May, mirroring a rise in 10-year Treasury yields.

Experts have warned that the housing market has entered an ice age, and those who don't already own a home could be boxed out for the foreseeable future by high prices, high mortgage rates, and tight inventory. Current homeowners, meanwhile, have little incentive to move, because that would mean giving up the lower mortgage rates secured before the run up in the last year.

Still, Goldman Sachs strategists pointed out in a Monday note that house prices are showing some signs of leveling out quickly and stabilizing.

Shifts in housing markets have also become highly localized, with price movements varying widely by location. For instance, the difference in price growth between Miami and San Francisco is hovering near a 30-year high, with prices up 10.9% in the Florida metro and down 10.1% in the west coast tech hub.