What do increased rates mean when buying a home?

Overcoming the FEAR and not having FOMO later

Summary

1. Increase rates indicates a healthy economy.

2. According to a preferred lender of mine the average interest rate over last 50 yrs is 8%. So 5-6% is still below average.

3. We all knew this was going to happen. Doesn’t mean you’ll get a bad deal on a home. At the same time it will have an impact on how much you can afford. That’s it! Example: at 4% you may have been approved for $350k and now you're approved at $300k.

Historical Numbers:

• 1970's: Rates in 1971 were in the mid-7% range, and they moved up steadily until they were at 9.19% in 1974. They briefly dipped down into the mid- to high-8% range before climbing to 11.20% in 1979.

• 1980's: Interest rates reached their highest point in modern history in 1981 when the annual average was 16.63%, according to the Freddie Mac data. Fixed rates declined from there, but they finished the decade around 10%. The 1980s were an expensive time to borrow money.

• 1990's: In the 1990s, inflation started to calm down a little bit. The average mortgage rate in 1990 was 10.13%, but it slowly fell, finally dipping below 7% to come in at 6.94% in 1998.

• 2000's: Mortgage rates steadily declined from 8.05% in 2000 to the high-5% range in 2003; averaging 5.04% in 2009.
• 2010's: Riding the wave of low bank borrowing costs, mortgage rates entered the new decade around 4.69%. They continued to fall steadily and were in the mid-3% range by 2012. In 2013, rates went up to 3.98%. Rates began to rise after the 2016 presidential election. They reached their peak at the end of 2018/start of 2019. Rates on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) ran between 3.95% on the low end and 5.34% on the high.
• 2020-2021: Rates began to rise after the 2016 presidential election. They reached their peak at the end of 2018/start of 2019. Rates on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage ran between 3.95% on the low end and 5.34% on the high.
• Currently rates are between 5.5 - 6.75% based on credit score

4. Increased rates doesn’t mean you should or can’t purchase.

5. Hire a knowledgeable Real Estate Agent that knows exactly what you have to do in order to have your offer accepted.

6. The Agent you hire should help you in dealing with Reality vs convincing you later what you need to expect.

7. Tools and recommendations from Kevin Wells with NorthGroup Real Estate: choosing the best loan product, possibly using an all cash lender (there typically is a fee to this) not asking for closing costs, being willing to go over AND pay the difference 

8. Use a local lender because they have close relationships with local agents and can speak on your behalf when making an offer. They also care about their reputation because they may see you in the grocery store. Will an out of state lender do that? Maybe.... maybe not. One local lender you can trust is Jon Adams with American Pacific Mortgage and he can be reached at (864) 590-4221 or email at jadams@lendfirstmtg.com

9. Don’t get frustrated and give up when you’re looking for a home. There's a pretty big possibility that you’ll be making 3-4 offers on different homes before you have your offer selected. What that means is that you could miss out on the opportunity to get a lower rate now vs a much higher rate later. What does that mean? Lets go back to the example I first mentioned in number 3. That could mean you go from $300 to $275k price range because you waited too long.

10. It's still a wonderful time to sell and purchase. If you're selling capitalize on your equity and find a home that fits you better OR allows your to pursue a dream of yours.

11. Are you RENTING? FUN FACT: If you're renting what is your interest rate? It's 100%!!! You keep NOTHING. So a 5 or 6% interest rate is still low. Something to think about 

Finally, I want to add this. Don't allow the media, friends and family into scaring you. NOBODY can predict the future. Period! Don't allow yourself to be a victim of "FOMO" as they call it. Because some people have already experienced that because they waited too long to make a decision. And this is a double edge sword because there are 2 factors present (price and rates). Even if prices remained steady or decreased slightly what do you do when rates go up? There's never a perfect time to purchase a home. There's always a factor involved. Please seek the assistance from a professional agent to get the facts and who works in the market full-time. Facts are your friends