A lot of things come alive in the spring, and the housing market is no exception. Experts believe more houses will sell in the warmer months. This prediction comes after home sales hit an almost five-year low in December.
Home loan rates are also expected to bring more buyers into the market. That does not mean current mortgage rates will not rise. It does mean that, historically speaking, you should still get a decent deal if you buy this year.
Read on to find out what you need to know about this year’s mortgage interest rates forecast.
Where Mortgage Interest Rates Stand Now
In late 2018, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged about 4.75 percent, depending on which lender you used. As of March 2019, that rate was a little under 4.5 percent.
In other words, people buying now should get a little better deal than people who bought three months ago. Of course, that depends on a lot of other factors.
For instance, houses in Seattle are more expensive than houses in Tulsa, regardless of your fixed-rate mortgage. The average income is also higher in places like Seattle.
The upshot of all this? Lower interest rates give people more room to buy houses that might otherwise be slightly out of their price range.
You may not be ready to buy a house this spring. There are responsible reasons to wait, like saving for a down payment.
If you are in that boat, let’s take a look at the mortgage rate trends for the rest of 2019.
The Quarterly Home Loan Rates Outlook
There is no single agency that predicts mortgage interest rates for the rest of the year. Instead, a few different places do it. That means it makes sense to look at more than one source for your mortgage interest rates forecast.
Let’s start with the Mortgage Bankers Association. On March 21, they released their most recent Mortgage Finance Forecast. It calls for a 30-year fixed interest rate of 4.4 percent for the first quarter.
That is pretty close to where things stand now, and the end of March is the end of the first quarter.
The association expects interest rates to go up a little bit in the second and third quarters. It is calling for home loan rates of 4.5 percent in both of those quarters.
In other words, if you want to buy a house between April and September of this year, you can expect about a 4.5 percent mortgage rate.
By the last quarter of 2019, the MBA expects rates to increase to 4.6 percent.
Mortgage-backed securities company Fannie Mae also releases an updated forecast each month. Their March 2019 forecast called for a rate of 4.4 percent throughout the year.
In a news release, Fannie Mae noted the economy is slowing down, but said it still expects the housing market to remain steady this year.
Other Factors at Work
As usual, the economy is a wild card. Any economic slowdown will eventually affect the housing market. That is doubly true if another recession hits in the next year or two.
The key phrase here is “next year or two.” For now, home loan rates are stable. Keep an eye on the future, but do not let that stop you from going shopping for a new home.
If you are looking for a house now, we can help you find a great home with a fair mortgage rate. Contact us today to find out how.
7th Level Mortgage is a leading one-stop mortgage company providing deeply informed, custom-tailored assistance with every phase of each mortgage transaction. If you are searching for a home loan in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New York, or Florida, please contact us today so that we can determine the best Mortgage Lender to place your loan with and get you the best possible rate and program.