mortgage rates: Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC): A Way to Help You Afford Your Mortgage Payments - 04/04/23 03:10 PM
Buying your first home comes with costs and possibly stress, but there’s at least one potential silver lining. If you’re within income limits, you might be able to qualify for a mortgage credit certificate, also called a mortgage interest credit certificate or MCC.
What is a mortgage credit certificate? It could save you money when you file your taxes and make it easier to pay your mortgage each month. Learn more about this mortgage certificate, who is eligible, how to apply, how to claim the tax credit and what happens if you refinance.
What is a mortgage credit certificate?
A mortgage credit certificate allows … (1 comments)

mortgage rates: Is a Mortgage Pre-Approval Letter Necessary to Make an Offer on a House? - 04/25/22 01:01 PM
Do you need a mortgage pre-approval letter to make an offer on a house? You know you need to get your ducks in a row before looking at homes, but does that include securing a pre-approval letter from the bank?
The truth is, getting pre-approved can actually improve your chances of falling into the sellers’ good graces, so you want to get it done as soon as possible in the home-buying process.
So how organized do your financials need to be before you start looking? Let’s take a look, starting with clarifying what a pre-approval letter actually is.
What is a pre-approval letter?
Mortgage pre-approval is assurance from a lender to provide … (4 comments)

mortgage rates: Homeowners May Be Reluctant to Give Up Low Mortgage Rate - 04/20/22 11:52 AM
About half of homeowners with a mortgage have a rate under 4%. That is significantly below today’s rate of 5%.
Such enticing rates could incentivize homeowners to stay put in their homes longer. They may not want to give up an ultra-low rate—many of whom may have snatched up a rate over recent years that was below 3%.
A recent analysis by Redfin calls out this “lock-in effect” as one factor that may contribute to a decline in home listings moving forward.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5% last week, the highest rate in more than a decade, according to Freddie Mac. Since the … (2 comments)

mortgage rates: How Much Home Equity Do I Need For a Mortgage Refinance? - 04/16/22 12:59 PM
With mortgage rates on the rise, the opportunity to save money with a refinance is shrinking, but it can still make sense for some homeowners. When it comes to refinancing a mortgage, though, home equity matters.
How much home equity do I need to refinance my mortgage?
Home equity is the cash value in your home. For instance, if your home is valued at $300,000 and you owe $200,000, your home would have $100,000 of cash value, or equity. If you don’t have enough home equity, private mortgage insurance, or PMI, may be required. This is a type of insurance borrowers pay to protect the … (2 comments)

mortgage rates: Historical Mortgage Rate Trends: 1970s to 2022 - 04/14/22 12:33 PM
While the mortgage rate you’ll get is determined by specific factors like your credit score, historical mortgage rate trends can give you a sense of how economic conditions influence the rates available on the market today. From the 1970s to present, mortgage rates have risen and fallen, with the current 30-year fixed rate still low, but on the rise.
“After spiking to near 20 percent levels in the early 1980s, mortgage rates — as with interest rates in general — were largely in decline for the better part of the next 40 years as inflation declined and became a non-factor,” says Greg McBride, CFA, … (1 comments)

mortgage rates: Borrowing Costs Jump as Rates Continue to Increase - 04/03/22 05:55 PM
For the fourth consecutive week, mortgage rates surged, up more than 90 basis points in one month.
Rates have jumped from 3.76% to 4.67% in just March alone, significantly increasing the borrowing costs for buyers, Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting at the National Association of REALTORS®, wrote for the association’s blog.
The monthly payment for a median-priced home with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose more than $170 in March due to higher rates, Evangelou notes.
In the past three months, that amount has been increasing even more. For example, LendingTree offers the following example: A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage loan worth $300,000 … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: Some Owners Turn to Cash-Out Refinances - 03/31/22 02:58 PM
Some homeowners are turning to the equity in their current home to fund their next real estate transaction. But the move isn’t without risks.
Most homeowners who bought a home before 2020 have seen rapid appreciation and rising equity in their homes. A cash-out refinance is allowing them to use that equity to help fund their next purchase. They can take out a new mortgage loan for more than what they owe, and then use the cash to buy another property or to make a down payment on a new one.
Cash-out refinances have traditionally been used to pay off debt or fund home … (1 comments)

mortgage rates: Who Really, Really Approves Your Loan? - 03/25/22 04:39 PM
‘Approval’ in the mortgage and real estate industries is a term thrown around sometimes a bit too regularly. It’s the stage of a loan application where the terms of the application and submitted documentation meet the requirements to take the loan to its final state, referred to as ‘funding.’
It’s the stage where every loan applicant wants to get to because it one step closer to moving into their new home. There’s a preapproval and then there’s a final approval. The preapproval is a stage where the homebuyers have submitted and application, provided some documentation and have given the lender authorization to … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: Here's What Does (and Doesn't) Drive Mortgage Rates - 03/22/22 08:06 PM
Mortgage rates moved dramatically throughout the pandemic. In the early phase of the health crisis, mortgage rates plunged to record lows. During the recovery stage, they hit pre-pandemic levels, then kept rising.
But why have rates moved so dramatically? And what drives mortgage rate movements? The answers are complex, but the moves make more sense when you learn which factors drive mortgage rates — and which don’t. Here’s a quick crash course that could save you money on a new mortgage or a refinance.
 1. It (sort of) begins with the Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve doesn’t set mortgage rates, but the central bank’s decisions definitely … (1 comments)

mortgage rates: What is a Cash-in Refinance? - 03/13/22 11:21 AM
A cash-in refinance lets you refinance your mortgage into a new loan with a lower principal balance.
When interest rates are low, you may be thinking about refinancing your home mortgage. Refinancing can lower your monthly payments or help you save on interest over the life of the loan.
But lenders typically will only allow borrowers to refinance with a certain amount of home equity. You may not have enough equity if you put down a small down payment or haven’t had your mortgage for long. 
A cash-in refinance can allow you to qualify for refinancing, help you put more money into your home, … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: What You Need to Know About Discount Points - 03/09/22 05:38 PM
When you're in the process of shopping for a mortgage, your lender may present you with the option of buying discount points. What are points, and should you buy them? Learn how discount points affect your mortgage and when you should consider buying them.
What Are Discount Points
Discount points allow you to pay upfront some of the interest on your home loan, and in exchange, you receive a lower interest rate on your mortgage. You pay your lender a one-time fee for the discount points when you close your loan.
One discount point is equal to 1% of the loan amount (or $1,000 for every $100,000), … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: Russian Invasion May Impact Mortgage Rates - 03/03/22 12:54 PM
Mortgage rates in the U.S. have risen this year and are expected to continue doing so, but the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could throw a wild card into those projections.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed by 37 basis points over the first two full weeks of February, according to Freddie Mac. But last week, as Russia invaded Ukraine, rates dropped to 3.89% for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
“When global investors sense increased uncertainty, there is a ‘flight to safety’ in the U.S. Treasury bonds, which causes their prices to go up, and their yield to go down,” says Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: Mortgage Rates Dip to 3.89% - 02/26/22 09:13 PM
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reversed course this week and decreased to an average of 3.89%, Freddie Mac reports. However, with expectations of even higher inflation on the horizon, mortgage rates likely will resume their upward trek over the coming weeks, Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting at the National Association of REALTORS®, notes on the association’s blog.
Despite this week’s decline, mortgage rates have risen by more than a full percentage point over the last six months, says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Overall economic growth remains strong, but rising inflation is already impacting consumer sentiment, which has markedly … (3 comments)

mortgage rates: Starter Homes More Affordable Than Renting - 02/24/22 01:41 PM
Home prices are rapidly rising, but rental prices are as well, and at a faster pace. In more than half of the nation’s largest U.S. metros, Americans likely will find buying a starter home more affordable than renting, according to a newly released report from realtor.com®.
Median rental prices rose 19.8% year over year in January. That has outpaced monthly starter homeownership costs, despite a very competitive housing market, researchers say. For comparison, the monthly costs of buying a home with up to two bedrooms have seen an 11% year-over-year jump, according to realtor.com®. Meanwhile, apartment costs for all unit sizes continue … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: Mortgage Rates Nearing 4% - 02/20/22 03:57 PM
Borrowing costs are climbing: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to a 3.92% average this week, Freddie Mac reports.
“Mortgage rates jumped again due to high inflation and stronger than expected consumer spending,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is nearing four percent, reaching highs we have not seen since May 2019. As rates and house prices rise, affordability has become a substantial hurdle for potential home buyers, especially as inflation threatens to place a strain on consumer budgets.”
As of now, however, the rising rates are sparking an urgency rather than a pause among house hunters, Nadia Evangelou, … (1 comments)

mortgage rates: Aiming to buy a home in the next year? Do these 4 things - 12/19/21 07:37 PM
If you want to buy a house in the next year, be prepared to save up and act fast.
The housing market has been red hot for the past 18 months, with buyers sometimes opting to skip many of the traditional strappings of the process, such as appraisals, inspections or even seeing the house in-person before making a deal.
All-cash purchases became the norm during the pandemic, currently comprising 24% of the market, according to the National Association of Realtors. Many buyers lost out on multiple homes before finally getting a bid accepted.
Things aren’t quite as crazy as they once were, but prices remain sky-high, inventory is low, … (1 comments)

mortgage rates: Is The Housing Market About to Crash? Here's What the Experts Say - 11/20/21 02:53 PM
The U.S. housing market is on fire. Double-digit appreciation is the rule. Giddy sellers are sifting through multiple offers. Frantic buyers are forced to pay more than asking prices — sometimes by $100,000 or more.
The real estate party is in full swing. The National Association of Realtors said this spring that prices of existing homes soared a record 17 percent from March 2020 to March 2021 — a pace that eclipsed even the eye-popping appreciation of the last boom. Appreciation has cooled since then, but only a little — prices rose 13 percent from September 2020 to September 2021.
The last time the U.S. … (2 comments)

mortgage rates: Not Sure If Refinancing Is Right For You? Calculate Potential Savings - 11/19/21 12:31 PM
When you refinance a mortgage what you’re really doing is replacing the mortgage you have now with a new mortgage loan that has new terms that better fit your financial goals. Determining whether to refinance your mortgage is an important decision, but it doesn’t need to be overwhelming.
If you have a high-interest rate mortgage, an adjustable-rate loan, or maybe your payments are becoming unmanageable, refinancing may be able to lower your monthly payments, shorten the term of your loan or move you into a more secure loan.
Reasons to Refinance
Save on your monthly payments
If interest rates have declined since you closed on … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: Today's Mortgage Refinance Rate Move Lower - 11/15/21 06:30 PM
Several closely watched refinance rates ticked downward today, November 15th, according to data compiled by Bankrate.
30-year fixed refinance rate: 3.04%, –0.11 vs. a week ago 15-year fixed refinance rate: 2.38%, –0.08 vs. a week ago 10-year fixed refinance rate: 2.35%, -0.06 vs. a week ago Here’s a pro tip: Getting multiple offers can save you thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage. “The extra effort of comparison shopping among lenders and putting in an extra application or two can pay dividends for years with a lower rate and savings on fees,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate chief financial analyst.
30-year fixed … (0 comments)

mortgage rates: Mortgage Rates Drop Below 3% Yet Again - 11/10/21 06:41 PM
A year ago, at this time, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.84%
Mortgage rates fell below 3% in the week ending November 10, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS mortgage report.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 2.98% last week, falling 11 basis points from 3.09% the week prior. A year ago, at this time, the average 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 2.84%.
“Despite the re-acceleration of economic growth, the recent bond rally drove mortgage rates down for the second consecutive week,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. “These low mortgage rates, combined with the tailwind of first-time homebuyers entering the market, … (0 comments)