Low Mortgage Rates: Now's A Great Time To Purchase Your Dream House In Bend

What Is Mortgage Rate?

Your mortgage interest rate indicates the annual cost to borrow money from your lender. The rate is expressed as a percentage of your total loan balance and is paid on a monthly basis, along with your principal payment, until your loan is paid off.

A 5% mortgage rate, for example, means you will pay 5% of your total loan balance in interest each year. You will pay more in interest at the start of your loan. As your loan’s principal balance goes down over the years, so does the amount of interest you pay each month.

Why Did The Mortgage Rates Hit A New All-Time Low?

In an effort to contain the economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Reserve in March slashed interest rates by half a percentage point — its largest one-time cut since the 2008 financial crisis. In theory, that should encourage banks to offer lower mortgage rates and bring more expensive homes within reach of more buyers.

The coronavirus continues to have the U.S. economy in a stranglehold. But those looking to buy a home or refinance an existing mortgage got some good news Thursday. Mortgage rates hit a new all-time low.

The average interest rate for a 30-year-fixed rate mortgage hit 3.23%, with 0.7 points paid, for the week ending April 30, according to Freddie Mac. That’s down 0.10 percentage points from 3.33% last week and a hair below the previous all-time low of 3.29% set earlier this year in March.

The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages matched its March low of 2.77%. Interest rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 3.14% from 3.28%.

Why Now Is A Great Time To Purchase Your Dream Home?

Home buyers and refinancers, currently enjoying historically low rates, will likely see even lower rates in the coming weeks.

With the decline in rates, consumers’ buying power continues to increase, and the ability to lock in long-term financing may prove too attractive for many to resist, even with higher home prices.

“Borrowing $250,000 at 3.5 percent now costs $144 less per month than at 4.5 percent one year ago, but 5 percent home price appreciation means borrowing $262,500 now,” McBride says. “The payment is still $88 per month lower at today’s rates than the smaller loan at last year’s higher rates.”

“Given the long-running trend of many buyers chasing few homes for sale, it could be that some shoppers recognized that the emerging outbreak could have an affect on affordability as Fed rate cuts dropped mortgage rates or could also dampen competition for housing, given its potential impact on the economy,” George Ratiu, senior economist at realtor.com, said in the report.

“Some combination of these two opportunity-creating factors likely drove more optimism about home buying, at least in the early days of this emerging crisis,”

George Ratiu, Senior Economist at Realtor.com

Although signs point to lower mortgage rates, tides could turn, so there’s no guarantee that you’ll get a better deal tomorrow than what you can lock in today. If you lock in a rate now and rates fall further during a recession, you may be able to refinance at that time, taking advantage of the even more favorable situation.

Out of all the places in the world, you should consider buying your dream house in Bend.

Why Choose Bend?

Bend has been dubbed the outdoor playground of the West for a thousand good reasons, but there’s more to this magical place than outdoorsy fun.

Sure, you might spend an afternoon dipping your kayak paddle in the crystal clear waters of the Deschutes River or plunging through pristine fields of fresh powder on your snowshoes. But how you feel when you do that—and as your smile lingers in the days that follow—that’s the Bend spirit.

Bend is world-famous for both its outdoor pursuits and pristine beauty. You can catch an art exhibit, dine at an award-winning restaurant, spoil yourself at one of our many spas, or trek the legendary Bend Ale Trail, the largest beer trail in the West. Bend makes a great spot for family-friendly fun as well, from cool cave tours in some of Bend’s ancient lava tubes to watching raptors soar at the High Desert Museum.

Read 10 Reasons You’ll Love Making The Move To Bend to know more information about Bend.

What’s not to love in Bend? Here are some of our listings for you to choose from:

Click here to view more listings in Bend: https://bit.ly/2Wqukam

If you’re looking to get a home loan in Bend, we have a great lender that we can put you in touch with. Give us a call at 541-306-3139!