Are Mortgage Rates Going Down? What Homebuyers and Real Estate Investors Should Know
Mortgage rates in the United States have become one of the most discussed topics in the real estate market. A change in the mortgage rate by 1% can inflict additional costs on home buyers, as well as impact investors’ earnings from their investments in real estate. Thus, it is of common knowledge that mortgage rates tend to change, and more often than not, they reduce by a certain percentage. However, the fact of their reduction cannot be stated with certainty, as there are diverse factors that can contribute to changes in mortgage rates, such as the state of the economy, inflation level, and federal funds rate, among others. Why Mortgage Rates Change Mortgage rates are not a mechanical function of what the Federal Reserve does. While the policies of the Fed will impact the overall ability for individuals to borrow, mortgage rates are more highly correlated to longer-term interest rates - such as government Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Several factors ca...