Interest rates continued to rise last week and remain above 7%. (iStock)
Mortgage interest rates rose again this week, with interest rates above 7% for the second week in a row. The average 30-year mortgage rate is 7.17%, up from last week’s average of 7.1%. Reported by Freddie Mac.
At this time last year, interest rates on 30-year mortgages were slightly better, but not by much. The average interest rate was 6.43%.
“Mortgage rates continued to rise this week,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Cater said in a press release.
“Despite interest rates rising more than 0.5% since the first week of this year, purchase demand remains stable,” Carter said. “Many homebuyers are adjusting as interest rates remain high for an extended period of time, as this week’s report shows new home sales posted their strongest increase since December 2022.”
Interest rates on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage aren’t much better than on a 30-year mortgage. The average interest rate this week was 6.44%, up from 6.39%. Last year’s 15-year interest rate was 5.71%, below 6%.
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The spring home buying season offers a slightly more optimistic outlook as the number of listings continues to increase.
Home prices are still rising, but at a slower rate
Home prices have yet to recover from their record highs during the pandemic. From 2020 to the present, the average sales price has increased by 27.5%. Rocket Mortgage reports.
Housing prices are still high, but they are starting to calm down a bit. Home prices are expected to rise by 1.9% this year; Jiro was found. This is slower than home price growth over the past few years. However, home sales are expected to decline this year, mainly due to rising interest rates. Zillow predicts that 4.06 million existing homes will be sold in 2024. This was a slight decrease from 4.09 million units in 2023.
The limited number of properties also contributes to the predicted decline in home sales. The number of new listings rose 21% in February, but fell to just 4% in March, suggesting a tight market for prospective homebuyers.
If you think you’re ready to consider a mortgage, consider using Credible, which makes it easy to compare interest rates from multiple lenders in minutes.
Millions of homeowners don’t have homeowners insurance due to high costs
Certain areas of the country face continued increases in homeowners insurance premiums.
Rising homeowners insurance premiums affect the entire country, but certain areas of the country have higher premiums.
California, Texas, and Florida have all seen their fair share of price increases, in part due to insurers withdrawing coverage from parts of the state. now, Iowa State is grappling with the same problem. Home insurance and auto insurance premiums are high.
Interest rate hikes are closely tied to the effects of climate change. Frequent occurrences of severe storms are increasing the number of insurance claims and causing severe losses for insurance companies. Iowa is no exception. Hail and storms across the state in 2020 and 2021 caused insurance companies to increase premiums, and those increases are now being passed on to homeowners.
“Iowa and the Midwest are in terrible shape right now when it comes to home insurance,” said Jeff Weddle, general manager of Guardian Mutual Insurance Association in Dallas Center.
The current home insurance situation in Iowa is “probably pretty close” to the situation in Texas and California, Weddle said.
It is important to have adequate homeowners insurance. To make sure insurance is right for your situation, visit Credible to review plans, providers, and costs.
Millions of people are moving from certain areas of the country that are currently designated as “climate abandonment areas.”
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