Let's say in 2020, you could afford a monthly mortgage payment of $1,343. At an interest rate of 3.5%, you can afford a mortgage of $300,000. Down payment and closing costs are separate.Today, with the average mortgage rate at 6.7%(FRED), the same $1,343 monthly mortgage payment will be the payment for a mortgage of $210,000.So, one can see that extended higher interest rates put a lot of pressure on home prices. Time will tell if this is a new normal or rates will eventually drift down. So far, the Fed rate cuts have not had the intended results as far as home affordability.After all the Fed Funds rate is a very short term rate that the Fed sets a target rate for banks to borrow from each other over night, so it has a very indirect effect on mortgage rates.In 2024, the stock market and...
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