According to today’s headlines, the sky is falling. But, always know that negative headlines sell ads. Inflation is on the rise and isn’t changing as quickly as we would like. The Fed has raised their rates again, which led to mortgage rates rising, which led to a National slowdown in sales. Depending on where you look, the average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is around 6-7%. Compared to a year ago — when the rate was below 3% — that increase seems massive and the average purchaser’s monthly payment has now more than doubled this calendar year alone. However, compared to historical averages — when the rate was pushing 8, 9, and even 10% — 6-7 % still seems relatively low. When we had our first farm loan interest rates moved up to 18% which was catastrophic.
The unprecedented time that we have just come out of with the mortgage rates being below 3% just isn’t reality. Rates may eventually go back down, but when we see mortgage rates on the rise, looking at the patterns historically can help us get perspective and not panic. We can look in this time for all the opportunities.
