Mortgage rates hit 20-year high

The interest rate for a standard 30-year, fixed-mortgage has reached a 20-year high, a top industry group announced Wednesday.

The weekly report by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows the rate reached 6.94% in the week ending Oct. 14 – the highest level since 2002.

The report is another sign of the country's slowing U.S. housing market and showed mortgage applications decreased 4.5%, on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared to the previous week.

"Mortgage applications are now into their fourth month of declines, dropping to the lowest level since 1997," said Joel Kan, the association's vice president and deputy chief economist. "The speed and level to which rates have climbed this year have greatly reduced refinance activity and exacerbated existing affordability challenges in the purchase market."

He also said residential housing activity – from housing starts to home sales – have been on downward trends coinciding with the rise in rates.