The talk about town related to real estate right now is mortgage rates are on the rise. To provide some guidance, here’s what industry experts are saying about the present and possible future of mortgage rates.
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, National Association of Realtors: We hope that the rate holds in the 6% range, despite the Federal Reserve rate hikes. Price decline potential is very minimal given the tight inventory conditions.
Sam Khater, Chief Economist, Freddie Mac: The uncertainty and volatility in financial markets is heavily impacting mortgage rate. Our survey indicates that the range of weekly rate quotes for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage has more than doubled over the past year.
George Ratiu, Senior Economist, Realtor.com: While even two months ago rates above 7% may have seemed unthinkable, at the current pace, we can expect rates to surpass that level in the next three months.
Jiayi Xu, Economist, Realtor.com: There is no doubt that the increasing mortgage rate will make homebuying even more challenging, buyers may still find opportunities, as these changes coincide with the time of the year when buyers have historically found the best market conditions to obtain more bargaining power.
Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chair: In his latest comments underlining his commitment to the inflation fight (which raising benchmark interest rates is a key component), Powell said expectations play an important role and were a critical reason why inflation was so persistent in the 1970s and ’80s. “History cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy. I can assure you that my colleagues and I are strongly committed to this project and we will keep at it until the job is done.”
Lauren Bunting is the Broker of Record for Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva in Ocean City, Maryland.
Lauren Bunting is a Broker with Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva in Ocean City, Maryland.
