Based on data compiled by Credible, mortgage rates for home purchases have fallen across all key terms since last Friday.

  • 30-year fixed mortgage rates: 5.875%, down from 6.125%, -0.250
  • 20-year fixed mortgage rates: 5.500%, down from 5.875%, -0.375
  • 15-year fixed mortgage rates: 5.250%, down from 5.490%, -0.240
  • 10-year fixed mortgage rates: 5.250%, down from 5.875%, -0.625

What this means: Mortgage rates for home purchases fell significantly for all key terms over the weekend, with 30-year rates diving below the 6% mark. Borrowers may want to lock in a 30-year rate today, ahead of likely rate fluctuations. But homebuyers who want to take advantage of interest savings may want to consider 20-year rates, which are more than a quarter…

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Based on data compiled by Credible, mortgage rates for home purchases have fallen across all terms since yesterday. 

  • 30-year fixed mortgage rates: 6.000%, down from 6.375%, -0.375
  • 20-year fixed mortgage rates: 5.750%, down from 5.875%, -0.125
  • 15-year fixed mortgage rates: 5.375%, down from 5.750%, -0.375
  • 10-year fixed mortgage rates: 5.875%, down from 6.000%, -0.125

Rates last updated on March 14, 2023. These rates are based on the assumptions shown here. Actual rates may vary. Credible, a personal finance marketplace, has 5,000+ Trustpilot reviews with an average star rating of 4.7 (out of a possible 5.0). 

What this means: Mortgage rates for home purchases fell across all repayment terms today, giving buyers…

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A report from the NAR found that the median down payment on a house in 2022 was a lot less than 20%.

The cost of purchasing a home is steep, but it may not be quite as expensive as many people think.

A report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found the median down payment amount in 2022 was 13% of the home's purchase price. Younger homebuyers put down even less — 8% among younger millennials (age 23-31) and 10% among older millennials (32-41). While this still represents a major financial commitment, these types of down payments are far less than the 20% that nearly half of Americans who have never owned a home believe is necessary (according to a survey from LendingTree).

Below, CNBC Select looks at when making a smaller…

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Mortgage Rates Just Hit a 4-Month Low, but Do Homebuyers Even Notice—or Care?

Recognize that media outlets and social media influencers are competing for scoops and eyeballs. As a result, their reports sometimes exaggerate issues, don’t tell the whole story, or get it wrong…. And the same thing can be said about the local housing market.

Mortgage rates are down again this week, which means things are looking up for homebuyers.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked down 2 basis points to 6.13%, according to Freddie Mac, continuing a pattern of rates seesawing lower since topping 7% in the fall. In fact, mortgage rates are at their lowest levels since mid-September 2022.

Yet, while lower borrowing costs are a boon for…

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A new survey finds Americans are woefully misinformed about the nation’s mercurial housing market, even as millions of them prepare to buy homes.  

Twenty-eight million Americans plan to purchase a home in 2023, according to a survey released Tuesday by NerdWallet, the personal finance company. On average, they hope to spend $269,200. 

But that figure falls more than $100,000 short of the median home price, which was $388,100 in December, according to the real estate brokerage Redfin. Home prices crossed the $269,000 threshold sometime in 2013, Federal Reserve statistics show. 

If prospective homebuyers sound oddly optimistic about prices, that may be because they are pessimistic about the state of the housing market. Two-thirds of Americans…

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Mortgage rates continued their plunge from a peak of 7.08% in November, marking their biggest three-week drop in 14 years.

“Mortgage rates continued to drop this week as optimism grows around the prospect that the Federal Reserve will slow its pace of rate hikes,” says Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater.

Mortgage rates this week

30-year fixed-rate mortgages

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.49%, down from 6.58% the week prior, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year rate averaged 3.11%.

Mortgage rates began to slide below 7% after the most recent inflation data was released in mid-November. The consumer price index was at 7.7%, coming in below economist's expectations.

“Data shows that mortgage…

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Interest rates have been a hot topic over the last 6-9 months.  As rates have been increasing many buyers have become reluctant to purchase a home.  Below is a great read from Ryan Niles at Cornerstone Home Lending - 

WHAT DRIVES RATES? 

One driver of interest rates is credit quality or risk of default. Even though underwriting can mitigate this, someone with worse credit quality has a higher chance of default. Investors will demand a higher rate of interest to compensate them for taking on the added risk of default due to poorer credit quality. 

The other and more important driver of interest rates is inflation. Inflation is the archenemy of Bonds since Bonds pay investors a fixed rate of return over time. 

Inflation erodes the buying power…

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What a difference just a few months can make. As the year comes to a close, the red-hot housing market has been brought to its knees by soaring mortgage interest rates.

  •          “Seattle, Phoenix, San Francisco could all see 20% price drops.”
  •          Wolf, of Zonda, expects prices could fall by 15% nationally over the next year
  •          “A really important thing to remember is housing is cyclical,” says Wolf. “We came from a massive run-up in prices, sales, demand in the housing market, and now it’s contracting. This is not new.”
  •          Nationally, home list prices rose 40.6% in just over two years’ time
  •          So, a 10%, 15%, or even 20% drop over a two-year span isn’t as significant as it might seem at first.

It now…

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The home selling process has changed considerably over the past year. Last year sellers could throw their homes on the market with little to no prep work done, throw a few pictures online and still expect multiple offers and a final sale price well over asking price. This red-hot sellers’ market was unprecedented in history and certainly not the norm.

Currently the market is in a state of readjustment and is trending back to a more normal balanced market. This adjustment may be perceived as scary by many sellers who are seeing their neighbors home prices fall in price and sit on the market for months. This slowdown can be directly correlated to raising interest rates and a huge increase of properties on the market.

The news for sellers in the…

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“As for the interest rate ‘elephant in the room,’ the time has come for buyers and sellers to revisit financing methods from previous markets,”

  •          “Mortgage programs are offering below-market rates with various buydown options – something we have not seen for years!”
  •          Buydowns, adjustable-rate loans, carrying back second deeds of trust, and closing cost allowances as possible options.
  •          Sellers need to be “laser focused on price and condition
  •          “What your neighbor’s house sold for six months ago has very little bearing on your home’s value today.”
  •          This is the new normal until interest rates go down.”

KIRKLAND, Washington (November 7, 2022) – Brokers with Northwest Multiple Listing Service…

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