How a Change in Mortgage Rates Impacts Your Homebuying Budget
Mortgage rates are on therisethis year, but they’re still incredibly low compared to the historicaverage. However, anytime there’s a change in the mortgage rate, it affects what you can afford to borrow when you’re buying a home. As Sam Khater,Chief EconomistatFreddie Mac,shares: “Since January, mortgage rates have increased half a percentage pointfrom historic lows and home prices have risen, leaving potential homebuyers with less purchasing power.” (See graph below):
When buying a home, it’s important to determine a monthly budget so you can plan for and understand what you canafford. However, when you need to stick to your budget, even a small increase in the mortgage rate can make a big difference.
According to theNational Association of Realtors(NAR), today, the median existing-home price is$313,000. Using $300,000 as a simple number close to the medianprice, here’s an example of how a change in mortgage rate impacts your monthly principal and interest payments on a home.
If, for example, you’re getting ready to buy a home and know your budget allows for a monthly payment of $1200-1250 (marked in gray on the table above), every time the mortgage rateincreases, the loan amount has todecreaseto keep your monthly cost in range. This means you may have to look for lower-priced homes as mortgage rates go up if you want to be able to maintain your budget.
In essence, it’s ideal to close on a home loan when mortgage rates are low, so you can afford to borrow more money. This gives you more purchasing power when you buy a home. Mark Fleming,Chief EconomistatFirst American,explains:
“Monthly payments have remained manageable despite soaring home prices because oflow mortgage rates. In fact, monthly payments remain below the $1,250 to $1,260 range that we saw in both fall 2018 and spring 2019, but they are on track to hit that level this spring. Although they remain low, mortgage rates have begun to increase and are expected to rise further later in the year, thus affordability will test buyer demand in the months ahead and likely help slow the pace of price growth.”
Today’s mortgage rates are still very low, but expertsprojectthey’ll continue to rise modestly this year. As a result, every moment counts for home buyers who want to secure the lowest mortgage rate they can in order to be able to afford the home of their dreams.
Bottom Line Thanks to low mortgage rates, the spring housing market’s in bloom for buyers – but these favorable conditions may not last for long. Let’s connect today to start the homebuying process while your purchasing power is still holding strong.