why are mortgage rates so much higher than the fed funds rate?

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I get that the fed funds rate influences mortgages: it goes up so do mortgage rates. But can anyone explain why there is such a high difference between fed funds (I believe it’s 1% now) vs mortgages (5-6%)? I know also that banks apply all sorts of premiums (default, market risk…) but why are they that high?

As a comparison, mortgage rates in the EU are still sub-2% with ECB rates at zero.

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8 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

1) There is a risk you may default

2) The interest rate is not necessarily what bonds yield

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