Where are rates headed? -

How have rates changed since COVID-19, and where are they headed now?

There’s a lot going on right now in the housing market and with interest rates, and with that in mind I want to get into a deep numbers analysis.

Let’s start with interest rates. What’s going on? Where have we been the last month? Where are we right now? Everyone has heard of the rates going up, and it has kind of freaked everybody out. There’s been a bit of shock for over the last few months. But within the last two weeks rates have dipped back down again quite significantly. Rates topped out in the mid-sixties with an APR of around 5.2- that’s with a permanent buy down of about a percentage point to get to the fours.

In fact, I was looking at a chart recently and the rates have almost gone to where they were pre-COVID. So if you sliced COVID out of the whole picture rates would seem somewhat flat.

It’s nice to see a little equilibrium happening in the market. Some of this dip happened after the FED announced an increase in the short term rates. This means they’re fighting inflation and whenever the FED fights inflation, it pushes long term rates like mortgage rates down, which is great.

What other strategies are out there right now to help home buyers here in Utah afford that house?

The first step is just jumping back in, getting a new quote, and looking at what these current rates can do. And to compound that, I was just chatting with a real estate agent today and roughly around 2,500 homes were listed a year ago, compared to the 8,500 listed today. That means there’s a lot more options of available homes, which will put downward pressure on prices. So a home that was selling or listed at $800,000 two or three months ago might now be listed closer to $700,000.

There’s also a program available called the two, one, buy down. It’s basically a way that you can get a fixed interest rate. For example, if it’s a 30 year fixed rate, but you can get a lower rate for the first one or two years you can pay for it yourself, or, if the seller or builder is willing to play ball, they can actually cover those costs as part of your upfront closing costs. This can make a substantial difference in your payment for one or two years while you get used to being a homeowner. Or if you’re not a first time home-buyer or are used to these higher rates, it can help soften that blow for a couple years.

And our team is set up to help people in the very best way, using the very best tools that are out there, to help you get the house you want. As an independent mortgage broker we’re not working for any particular bank, but we have access to literally hundreds of different lenders out there and their programs. And these lenders want us to send them business, so they’re sending over incentives all the time. For example, a lender the other day came out and said, “We will beat anybody’s rate. We’ll have the lowest rates, no matter what.” So now we’re able to pass those rates on to our clients.

So, if you are looking to get a house right now or in the near future, I would recommend setting up a free consultation to talk with someone on our team, and put our experience to work for you. We’ve been doing this for over 20 years. We know how these programs work together and which ones can change the variables, so you can turn your story into a success story.

So feel free to reach out, we want you to get the most affordable payment and the best structure so YOU can get that amazing house you’re looking forward to.