The past couple years been a roller coaster for the housing market. Relatively high interest rates pumped the brakes on new home purchases as many who locked in during the pandemic era low rates opted to stay put rather than take on a 6 – 7 percent rate.
Still, a large amount of folks purchased a new home and have been eagerly awaiting for rates to fall. In August, mortgage data from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) estimated 1.6 million homeowners would benefit from refinancing after allowing for closing costs. By September, that number rose to more than 2 million as rates fell due to economic uncertainty spurred by a weak housing market and conflicting opinions on tariffs.
If mortgage rates fall below 6.125%, some 4.8M mortgage holders would likely be able to lower their monthly payment with a refinance.
Today, October 30th, average rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages were down to 6.22% according to our collected averages.
The first step to getting ready for a refinance is to do a fresh assessment of your existing mortgage loan. Several calculators exist online to assist with our favorites being Zillows and Refi.com. Here you can adjust interest rates up and down to get an idea on where rates need to be to save.
If all of this seems overwhelming, connecting with a licensed loan officer is going to be the way to go. They will be able to assess your current situation and recommend when to move forward. Until then, avoid taking out new lines of credit such as auto loans or new credit cards until you determine if you are eligible to refinance and save.
