Today’s rising mortgage rates can put the squeeze on home buyers — there’s no question there…so here are some home buying tips for today’s rate environment.

However, a higher mortgage rate doesn’t mean that buyers should stop looking to purchase. There are things would-be buyers can do to ease the pressure and boost their budget, even as rates rise.

Mortgage expert Ivan Simental broke down some of these strategies in a recent podcast that you can find here…The Mortgage Reports Podcast. 

Here’s the link to Aly Yale’s article in The Mortgage Reports and I’ve listed a few things from that piece here…

Focus on You, not the Market

It’s easy to fixate on headlines about rising interest rates, but Simental says it’s more important to focus on your specific financial situation rather than the market at large.

“Try not to follow where interest rates are at so much,” Simental says. “The market is always going to be like this. It’s going to go up and down and it’s going to have good months and bad ones. But the important thing is to stick to your plan.”

“The market is always going to go up and down. But the important thing is to stick to your plan.”

Don’t Put Too Much Stock in Headlines

There are always news stories and headlines about the housing market, but be careful about consuming too much. These often highlight the most extreme happenings in the market and are indicative of more general trends — not necessarily the rates or experience you’ll see if you buy a home.

“I always tell my clients, ‘Look, If you are in a good place to buy a house, then right now is a good time to buy a house,’” Simental says.

“If you’re not, then it is not a good time to buy a house — and that is why it is so important to get with an individual who’s really going to look out for you, your finances, and your specific situation… Speak with a professional who’s doing this day in and day out.”

Know Your Finances

To qualify for a mortgage at today’s higher rates — and make sure you get a loan you can afford both now and down the line — having a good handle on your finances is critical.

Simental stressed the importance of looking at your financial stability over the long term. As he put it, “Are you going to make a job switch or take fewer hours, or are you going to be on maternity leave?” These types of things impact how much home you can afford and qualify for.

Ideally, you want to get to a place where your earnings are consistent and reliable. This will lower the risk you present to lenders and make it easier to qualify for a loan. “Get consistent with your income,” Simental says. “Make sure that you have all of your finances in order and make sure that you are working full-time.”

Tackle Debt

Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is a big factor in your home-buying budget, so pay off debts where you can before you start house hunting.

“I would honestly suggest eliminating all of the smaller payments that you are paying — whether on your credit card or [a] small student loan that you can pay off — because that’s just really going to harm you when you go into the qualifying process for a home,” Simental says.

According to Simental, your DTI will need to be under 45% or 50%, depending on the loan program. “That includes your mortgage payment. And if you have car payments, student loans, credit cards, personal loans, that all gets taken into consideration and gets looked at, and it can hurt your application,” Simental says. “Make sure to take care of these debts.”

Improve Your Credit Score

Your credit impacts both your ability to qualify for a mortgage and the interest rate you’re quoted.

“Take a look at your credit score,” Simental says. “If your credit score is not where it needs to be or not where it should be, make sure that you come up with an action plan to get it to the best possible score you can. The higher the credit score, the better the interest rate and the better loan program options that you will have.”

If your score is on the lower end, a good loan officer will help you build a roadmap to improving your credit.

“Even if you’re not ready to buy right now, connect with a loan officer and let them know ‘Hey, I want to run my credit. I want to see where it’s at. I want to see if there is a room for improvement,’” Simental says. Ask them, “‘What do I need to do so that I can have the best possible credit score?’”

Next Steps

Whether you’re ready now or just preparing to buy a house, reach out to me, as it would be my pleasure to work with you to get started!

I’d be more than happy to take an in-depth look at your income, credit, and current mortgage rates, then tell you what you’re able to afford. If you’re not in an ideal position to buy right now, I can help you develop a strategy to get you there!

Recently, the Federal Reserve hiked the Federal Funds Rate by another 0.75%.  This was the fifth rate hike of the year and the Fed also projects raising it another 1.25% this year, which may mean another 0.75% hike in November and 0.5% in December.

Remember, the Fed Funds Rate is the overnight borrowing rate for banks, and it is not the same as mortgage rates.

But you may be wondering: How does this move in the Fed Funds Rate affect mortgage rates?

Inflation

Mortgage rates are primarily driven by inflation, which is at a 42-year high.  When the Fed hikes the Fed Funds Rate, they are trying to slow the economy and curb inflation.  If the Fed is successful in cooling inflation, mortgage rates should decline.  History proves this during rate hike cycles for the past 50 years.

Unfortunately, inflation erodes the buying power of the fixed return that a mortgage holder receives.  When inflation rises, lenders demand a higher interest rate to offset the more rapid erosion of their buying power.

But if the market doesn’t believe the Fed can get control of inflation, we could see more volatility in mortgage rates.

Mortgage Rates and Treasury Yields

Fixed mortgage rates and Treasury yields tend to move together because fixed-income investors compare the returns they can get on government and mortgage-backed securities.

Investors compare yields on long-term Treasuries to mortgage-backed securities and corporate bonds. All bond yields (including mortgage backed securities) are affected by Treasury yields, because they compete for the same type of investor.

Mortgages, in turn, offer a higher return for more risk. Investors purchase securities backed by the value of the home loans—so-called mortgage-backed securities. When Treasury yields rise, investors in mortgage-backed securities demand higher rates. They want compensation for the greater risk.

What Really Causes Rates to Rise and Fall?

Mortgage rates are determined by a complex interaction of economic factors, such as the level and direction of the bond market, including 10-year Treasury yields; the Federal Reserve’s current monetary policy, especially as it relates to funding government-backed mortgages; and competition between lenders and across loan types.

Because fluctuations can be caused by any number of these at once, it’s generally difficult to attribute the change to any one factor.  Although in our current situation, inflation (and the Fed’s mismanagement of it) is the number one cause.  When this is coupled with the large increase in government spending, you see a double dose of fear in the markets.

Moving Forward

There may come a point when mortgage rates drop back down and borrowers can enjoy some of the remarkably low rates they were available from mid-2020 through late 2021.

And throughout the remainder of 2022, we could have periods when rates dip to some degree. 

But for the most part, borrowers may need to come to terms with the fact that the days of record-low borrowing are behind us. In the meantime, real estate is still a tremendous investment…and I’m advising my clients to Marry The House, But Date The Rate.

Would you like to find out more?  Contact me to discuss your current situation and how you might be able to take advantage of today’s market.  It would be my pleasure to help you!