FINANCE
What are the best interest rates for a home and which banks offer them?
The Federal Reserve hiking interest rates in the last year has made purchasing a house very unaffordable, but there are tools to find the best rates.
Mortgage rates typically do not directly correlate with the federal funds rate but they are still affected by them. Instead, they tend to align with the yield on 10-year Treasury Bonds. The value of these bonds is influenced by the Federal Reserve’s economic outlook and rate setting measures, a fact which has inspired high mortgage rates in the last 12 months.
Real-estate search engine Zillow has an online tool to enable you to find a lender easily and at the best rates. You can compare loan estimates from at least three lenders on it.
Forbes also has a 30-year fixed mortgage calculator and a mortgage amortization calculator that can be used to work out the final cost of a mortgage if you input your data and personal situation.
How are interest rates at present?
Current figures for 15-year and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are 6.78 % and 7.65 %, respectively. When compared to the rates from this time last year, both have risen by a large margin, mainly from increasing interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Individuals with fixed-rate mortgages will not experience any changes to the interest rates applied to their principal balances. However, those who are planning to purchase a home will have to pay a higher price compared to last year.
What are the best interest rates for a home?
The lower the interest rate the less you will need to pay throughout your mortgage. Mortgage rates are below the annual average set since 1971, but they are still high in relative terms and their highest since 1999. There is as of yet no talk of the Fed reducing interest rates so don’t expect mortgage rates to fall for some time.
“We don’t think it’s going to go much higher,” says Priscilla Almodovar, CEO of mortgage giant Fannie Mae. “The question now is, ‘How long are they going to stay this high?’”
Some estimates point to rates reaching 8% before falling again in 2024.If you are wanting to buy a new house then it is best to wait it out for rates to go down. Homes are at their some of their most expensive prices ever.