“I would act with some urgency” is how Bankrate.com’s Greg McBride characterized the prospects of home-owners looking to refinance their mortgages in the hopes of better interest rates.
McBride told Newell Normand on WWL Radio that those rates have gone down over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic but could be poised for a rebound soon.
“There’s a real good chance you’re in a position to profitably refinance now because rates have been so much lower,” McBride said. “But I would act with some urgency. We’ve already seen mortgage rates rise about a quarter of a percentage point just in the last several weeks, and there’s the prospect that they could rise further.”
McBride said the low rates were somewhat manufactured by the federal reserve in order to stimulate the economy, but that those efforts will be getting rolled back soon as the economy grows more stable.
“What’s happening now is that now that the economy is firmly rebounding, the federal reserve is going to start to unwind that, perhaps beginning as soon as next month,” McBride said. “All else being equal, that is likely to lead to an upward influence on rates.”
As for those looking to purchase a home for the first time, McBride said the rise in rates isn’t nearly the detriment to their searches that other factors are – namely a shortage of prospective homes.
“It’s the limited supply of homes that are available for sale and the price tag of those that are,” McBride said.
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