Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have risen from an average low of 3% to around 6% in the past year alone. As rates rise, the amount of housing you can afford decreases. For every 1.00% increase in interest rates, your purchasing power decreases by approximately 10.00%. For every 1% increase in interest rates, your purchasing power decreases by approximately 10%.
Mortgage interest rates are rising rapidly in the United States, which appears to be slowing most real estate markets. Some, such as the Corvallis market, have been less affected. Do rising rates affect your purchasing power? They do, and more significantly than you might think. The interest rate you set has a big impact on how much money your lender allows you to borrow; and the amount of money you borrow affects the amount of home you can afford to buy.
The higher interest rates increase, the less home you can buy. Rising mortgage rates can have a significant impact on purchasing power. A 1% increase in rates can add hundreds of dollars to a monthly payment and, first of all, make it difficult to qualify for a loan. As a result, you may be forced to buy a less expensive home or wait for rates to drop before entering the market.
In the early years of the loan, more money goes to interest, making higher mortgage rates even less desirable. The mortgage interest rate you find plays an important role in how much money your lender will allow you to borrow. Changes in seller expectations due to reduced demand can benefit buyers who can afford a mortgage even at the highest interest rates. Mortgage interest rates change daily, and choosing the right time to buy a home depends largely on your personal financial situation.
While low mortgage rates didn't push us to move last year, they certainly gave us an incentive to act quickly. Understanding how these mortgage rates affect the amount of a loan you can repay helps you decide if now is the right time to buy a home. And market returns are generally taxable, while for the many people who don't itemize, mortgage interest is not deductible, and even for those who do itemize, many don't get the full effective deduction of their mortgage interest. Buyers in areas with higher property taxes (such as Texas) lose less purchasing power due to higher rates because property taxes account for a higher portion of their payment and remain fixed regardless of rates.
Overall, if you can afford a mortgage at current interest rates and find a good deal on a home you like, you might consider that now is a good time to buy a home. The current pricing environment is likely to be a limited window of opportunity to claim a low rate and a still reasonable housing price. There are many things that make up a mortgage interest rate, some are under the borrower's control and others depend on the lender and the economy as a whole.
