Happy Thursday – I hope you are doing well. For this week’s video, I want to discuss interest rates as they relate to your budget. If you followed the market this week, you know rates went up about .5%. This is due to the CPI report that was released on Tuesday showing inflation was higher than expected. While this is not ideal, there is no need to panic. We knew it was going to be a bumpy road waiting for rates to come down, but we do still expect them to come down this year. The next big market moving reports will be the employment and CPI reports next month. If they come in lower than expected, we will see rates start to drop again.
What does this mean for you if you are looking to buy a home this year? It means you should still buy if the higher interest rates didn’t push you out of your budget for your home purchase. It is impossible to time the market and know exactly when rates will fall but we do know that when they fall, there will be more competition.
In my opinion, the most important thing a home buyer can do is get with a lender and make sure they understand their budget. Here is what I mean by that. If you found a house that met all your needs, what is the most money you can bring to closing and the most you can pay on a monthly mortgage payment within your budget. Once you know these numbers, you can determine the max purchase price you should be looking at for homes. As rates change, you can check in with your lender to see if the rate increase or rate decrease modifies your budget.
As always, please call me if you would like to discuss in more detail.
Stewart Sadler
Managing Partner
Cornerstone Mortgage Group
Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee: 21412 • Company NMLS: 147913 • Individual NMLS: 147938
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