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The biggest shock to homebuyers is the soaring mortgage rates of 2022 that doubled in one year resulting in approximately 15 million mortgage ready buyers displaced from the market due to affordability issues. As of February 23, 2023, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage was at 6.5%.   While that is twice as high as it was on January 6, 2022, it is still lower than the 7.75% average rate since April 2, 1971, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. When rates increase at a rapid pace like this, it takes time for the public to adjust and begin to accept it as the new normal. Prior to the housing bust that led to the Great Recession, the normal for mortgage rates was in the 6% range and existing home sales were over 6.5 million for three years.   From 2007 to 2014, home sales were closer to 5 million with 2008-2011 at just above 4 million annually. From January 17, 2008 to March 5, 2020, mortgage rates averaged 4.32%.   In this 12-year period...

Locking your interest rate protects you from increases due to market conditions.   Locking early safeguards your budgeted payment.   By locking the rate, if the market goes up, you get the lower rate; if it goes down after the lock, you may be able to pay a fee and lower the rate. Knowing when to take the lock is determined by which direction you think the market is going.   If you think rates are going up, lock in early.   If you think rates are going down, ride the rate to within a few days of closing. Some lenders may allow a borrower to lock a rate after pre-approval but is more common to not offer a lock until there is a signed contract on a home.   Even with a pre-approval, it could easily take 30 days or more to close a transaction and the rates can move a lot in that period. There may be a fee charged to lock a rate which is determined by the lender.  Generally, the longer the time for the rate lock, the higher the fee. There is ...

Sellers, who last year, were not willing to make any concessions, are much more likely to do so this year due to the softening of the market because of inflation and higher mortgage rates affecting affordability for buyers. Concessions can take place in different forms.   A seller could offer to pay the buyer's closing costs or pay points for the buyer to get an FHA or VA loan.   Another option would be to pay for a 2/1 buydown that would lower the buyer's payments in the first two years of the mortgage. Buydowns can be temporary or permanent and are achieved by pre-paying the interest at the time of closing.   Typically, the seller will do this as an inducement to the buyer.   While individual lenders set the price for permanent buydowns, a common rule-of-thumb would be two points, or two percent of the mortgage amount, to buydown the rate 0.5% for the life of the mortgage. A more common type of buydown is a 2/1 where the payment is calculated at 2% lo...

The TCJA of 2019 dramatically increased the standard deduction so that many homeowners benefit from taking that rather than itemizing their deductions.   Taking the standard deduction may result in a larger deduction even if you have no expenses that qualify for claiming itemized deductions. Another thing reinforcing taking the standard deduction was low rates at the time and the interest plus property taxes were less than the standard deduction. In 2022, mortgage rates more than doubled, so, anyone who purchased a home or refinanced at the higher rates might benefit from itemizing rather than taking the standard deduction.   The takeaway in this article is to compare both methods each year to see which way provides the larger deduction. For 2022, the standard deduction for married couples filing jointly is $25,900, for single filers and married individuals filing separately is $12,950, and for heads of households is $19,400.   There are increased amount for ...