Interest rates are rising…..and some buyers are feeling anxious to close on their purchase so they don’t miss out on historically LOW interest rates!
Mortgage rates have seen a sharp rise in recent weeks. Mortgage applications for home purchases have risen 3 percent and are up 14 percent over year-ago levels, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke recently suggested that the Fed’s efforts to keep mortgage rates at record lows may be nearing an end soon.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage — the most popular among home buyers — recently ticked up to 4.0 percent, the highest level in a year. Coupled with rising mortgage rates, home prices have been on the rise too.
Every 1 percentage point that mortgage rates rise reduces the average home shopper’s maximum purchase price by 11 percent. Still, mortgage rates are low by historical standards, and remain below the 4 percent historical low threshold. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached a record low in December last year — averaging 3.47 percent.
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