Record-Low Mortgage Rates

When people look back on the tumultuous 2020 economic landscape, they might pause a moment to check out home mortgage rates. Over the last three months, these rates have managed to achieve five all-time lows.  Currently, Freddie Mac, which buys mortgages from banks, reports an average 3.03% rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, and there is a chance that we could see rates below 3% between now and the end of August. 

You can see the remarkable downward trend in mortgages from late 2018 through the end of June, and then the light-blue-shaded part of the chart shows projected rates going forward.  Compare these rates to 18% fixed-rates back in the early 1980s, or 5% as recently as 18 months ago. Please take the projections with a grain of salt (nobody knows what will happen next week or next month, much less out to the end of the year), but it’s pretty clear that today’s 3% rate is pretty extraordinary. 

Refinancing your home will depend on many factors, including your current mortgage rate, your home’s value compared to loan balance and how long you expect to own your house. And, during the pandemic, it has been tricky to refinance.  Some mortgage brokers have been overwhelmed with business and have stopped taking on new business.  In addition, in the ‘jumbo mortgage’ space loans are harder to find and consumers are likely to encounter stricter lending requirements.

If you would like to explore if refinancing your home loan makes sense, reach out to a Kaizen Advisor. 

Source:

https://themortgagereports.com/32667/mortgage-rates-forecast-fha-va-usda...

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US