All you need to know about Increased Mortgage Rates

According to 2022 mortgage rates forecasts, mortgage rates are likely to continue to rise going into the rest of this year.

Mortgage rates jumped 1.5 percentage points during the first three months of the year, the biggest quarterly climb in 28 years

The jump corresponded with a 40% drop in mortgage applications from a year ago.

Rising inflation, the uncertainty due to Russia’s war on Ukraine and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy are all putting pressure on mortgage rates.

Experts are forecasting that the 30-year, fixed-mortgage rate will vary from 4.8% to 5.5% by the end of 2022.

We’ve mentioned rates are rising in 2022, which brings other implications as well, including homes more expensive for buyers and thereby reducing the demand for home purchases.

Interest rates are important to the housing market for several reasons. They determine how much we will have to pay to borrow money to buy a property, and they influence the value of real estate. Low interest rates tend to increase demand for property, driving up prices, while high interest rates generally do the opposite.

Who benefits the most when interest rates increase?

One sector that tends to benefit the most is the financial industry. Banks, brokerages, mortgage companies, and insurance companies’ earnings often increase—as interest rates move higher—because they can charge more for lending.

How to prepare for higher Interest rates

There are 4 ways to prepare for higher interest rates

1.Refinance : With mortgage rates quickly rising, homeowners are racing to save money on refinancing. Currently, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is hovering around 4.72%, which makes about 1.7 million homeowners able to reduce their rate by at least 0.75%, according to Black Knight, a data analytics company.

2. Refinance your private student loans: Look at option of refinancing from a variable rate to a fixed – rate loan
3. Pay down your credit card debit: The average interest rate for credit cards is about 16% now, but with looming rate hikes, those rates could be back around 17% by the end of the year. It is better to look into all your debt consolidation options including balance transfer etc.,
4. Improve your credit score: Since lenders use your credit score to determine what interest rates you’ll pay on loans, the easiest way to offset benchmark interest rate increases is by improving your credit score.To keep your credit score high, focus on paying off debt and making on-time payments on your outstanding balance every month. You can find more tips on improving your credit score

To avail Title Search and Settlement services, get in touch with us at Orchestrate.com. Our Experts focus on the objectives of consumers about most — the latest rates, the best lenders, handling the homebuying process, refinancing your mortgage and more.