What does 1% mean to you over 30 years when it comes to making mortgage payments?  Well, that depends on if you are a buyer or a seller using financing to buy or sell your house.  If you are a cash buyer you don't worry about 1% because as the old saying goes, "Cash is King."  

Fannie Mae's Chief Economist Doug Duncan said, "With regard to housing, all eyes now are turned toward the Federal Reserve, which is expected to begin scaling back its asset purchase program this week.  Mortgage rates have increased more than 100 basis points since early May, and we anticipate that trend to continue, albeit gradually, during the next year."

Looking at Duncan's comments in March 2012, "Conditions are coming together to encourage people to want to buy homes," said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae. "Americans' rental price expectations for the next year continue to rise, reaching their record high level for our survey this month. With an increasing share of consumers expecting higher mortgage rates and home prices over the next 12 months, some may feel that renting is becoming more costly and that home ownership is a more compelling housing choice." Hindsight is 20/20.  Some people are kicking themselves for not buying when interest rates & home prices were lower.  So looking at what is trending right now, it is financially compelling to move now instead of waiting until spring.

Douncan's comments tells me that it shouldn't be a surprise if interest rates go up at least another percent by spring.  And that could leave buyers and sellers less than excited.  So what does that mean for buyers and sellers? 
Let's start with Buyers:

For buyers who are financing a home:
rising interest rates means that a buyer is paying more interest each month for the same priced house at a lower interest rate.  Plain and simple.  Let's look at two home prices.  One home is purchased for $150,000 and the other is purchased for $250,000.

Home #1 
A purchase price of $150,000 at today's fixed interest rate of 4.25%,(with conventional financing & 5% down payment) would give you a principle and interest monthly mortgage payment of $701.01 *
The same purchase price of $150,000 at 5.25% = p&i $786.89*
The same purchase price of $150,000 at 6.25% = p&i $877.40*

(*remember that you will also have homeowners insurance, property taxes and mortgage insurance added to that monthly payment. - this mortgage payment example is principle and interest based on a conventional 30 year loan.)

The difference in one percent is substantial.  Your monthly payment from 4.25% to 5.25% is $85.88/month.  When the interest rate rises back to 6.25% add another $90.51/month to the 5.25% monthly payment.  As the mortgage interest rate rises,  the less purchasing power a buyer has.

If you look at the amortization totals over 30 years, 1% is substantial - let's look at side by side comparisons of 4.25%, 5.25% and 6.25% interest rates to show you the long term financial difference to buyers:
Monthly payment  (p&i)   $701.01                    $786.89                   $877.40
Loan amount                     $142,500                  $142,500                 $142,500
Interest rate                        4.250%                    5.25%                         6.25%
Term                                   360 months            360 months             360 months
Total of payments           $252,366.80            $283,280.67           $315,860.82
Total interest paid           $109,866.80            $140,780.67           $173,360.82


Home #2 

A purchase price of $250,000 at today's fixed interest rate of 4.25%, would give you a principle and interest monthly mortgage payment of $1168.36

The same purchase price of $250,000 at 5.25% = $1311.48
The same purchase price of $250,000 at 6.25% = $1462.33

(***remember that you will have homeowners insurance, property taxes and mortgage insurance added to that monthly payment. - this mortgage payment example is principle and interest based on a conventional 30 year loan.)


Monthly payment (p&i) $1168.36                  $1311.48              $1462.33
Loan amount                  $237,500                  $237,500                $237,500
Interest rate                   4.25%                            5.25%                   6.25%
Term                                360 months               360 months           360 months
Total of payments        $420,607.78            $472,135.93           $526,437.19
Total interest paid        $183,107.78            $234,635.93           $288,937.19


Again the difference in one percent is substantial.  Your monthly payment from 4.25% to 5.25% is $143.12/month.  When the interest rate rises back to 6.25% add another $150.85/month to the 5.25% monthly payment.  As the mortgage interest rate rises,  the less purchasing power a buyer has.

Granted, not all home buyers stay in their home until their 30 year loan is paid off, but when you look at the long term differences in 1% or 2%, a qualified buyer should be motivated to move forward and not wait.

It means fewer buyers qualified to purchase your home.  

As interest rates rise, the less purchasing power buyers have.  The rise in rates will reduce the number of qualified buyers available to purchase your home.  Also, some buyers may not want to pay more in a monthly payment (because of a higher interest rate)  and therefore put in a lower offer to compensate for that higher interest rate.  

Take Home #1 above for example:  Looking at a $150,000 home at 4.25% over 30 years a buyer's principle and interest payment is $701.01/month and when it increases $85.88 a month at the first 1% increase to a Principle and Interest payment of $786.89 a month you will have knocked some buyers out of the running to purchase your property.  And when mortgage rates rise an additional 1% to 6.25% add another $90.51/mo to the payment of $786.89 to $877.40 and more buyers will fall away. Granted the rates don't typically jump 1% over night, this year rates jumped 1% from April to August. More typically looking at a 30 year average of when rates rise, they go up .25 within a 3 month period.  

Nick Timiraos, a real estate news and analysis blogger from The Wall Street Journal, said on September 20, 2013, "Home prices are also higher than they were a few months ago - meaning sellers may have lost the advantage they had on prices earlier this spring.  Since many buyers who need a mortgage shop for a house based on how much they're going to pay every month, the increase in rates together with the increase in prices could lead to some sticker shock." 

We are still at interest rates that are historically low.  And for many people who are a few years out from buying a property that can be of some consolation.  Get yourself prepared while you wait.  Build up a great nest egg, make sure your credit is clean, pay down your debts and the more money you can have for your down payment the better.  And by all means please talk with a credible lender and a licensed REALTOR®.  According to the National Association of Realtors®, "Existing-home sales increased in August and reached the highest level in six-and-a-half years, while the median price shows nine consecutive months of double-digit year-over-year increases." 

This is great news for sellers -IF you are in the market to sell your home NOW.  The market can change and the "wait until Spring" approach to list your house might cause sellers to lose their financial edge.  And for buyers, they can wait and see if prices and interest rates come down, but that approach might cost buyers a bigger home or more money for the same property that is available today.


If you or someone you know are in the market to buy or sell a property in MN- contact me today!   I'm happy to help.  

Make it a great day! 

Liz

 

Happy Tuesday to everyone!  

As you may have noticed I have a new broker logo on my website/emails.  That's because I have recently relocated to Apple Valley from Duluth.  I recently joined Coldwell Banker Burnet Apple Valley office and as I am licensed in the whole state of MN, I am able to help you to buy or sell any property in the state.  :)  If you want a realtor within 5 minutes of you, I will refer you to a fabulous agent but please contact me first with all your real estate needs.  

Having lived in Duluth most of my life moving has been a big transition. 

I moved away from family & lifelong friends, connections, back of my hand knowledge of my community, my realtor family at Messina & Associates, as well as the beauty of the north shore.  Of course I'm only 2.5 hours away.  But if you are looking to relocate, put your home on the market, look for a new property - I know what you are going to go through - because I just did it. 

 I had my house on the market, in a challenging market - with 3 small children, a dog and a husband who had already moved because of his job. Oh and I was working too...  No stress, right?  Ha!  :)  It IS totally worth it once it is done - but it is a lot of work and then there is the emotional roller coaster, but don't worry as I will help you!

 I have moved into the great Apple Valley community where I have lots of family & friends and many resources available to me at my fingertips: Where do you go to find out about schools?  I'll show you.  Where do you go to find childcare?  I have new resources to share with you.  Where can I go to get a bite to eat so not to leave crumbs before a showing?  I found some great places.  But more than that - I can help you through each step of the way: from pointing out what & where to fix things that buyers will notice - to staging / pricing your house for the most profitable sale in the shortest amount of time.  And how would you like a check list of things you will want to verify before the putting your house on the market?  And that's just for starters.  My job is to help you each step of the way.  

And when you are ready, I'll help you find your next property, based on your wants and needs.  

The time to get busy preparing to sell your house is now and you will want to contact me today to get your ducks in a row. Interest rates are not going down as we have stepped into September. Please don't think that waiting for spring is the answer.  As you can see below,  the Feds are projecting interest rates to go up - not down.  If you are thinking about moving - contact me today!

Buying and selling your home is not easy, but with the right Realtor, it will be much easier.  And TOTALLY worth it!

Make it a great day! :)

Liz

 

"The housing recovery appears to have weathered some of the uncertainty, although additional growth is expected to be modest rather than robust while the market awaits an easing of credit conditions in the presence of rising interest rates. The rise in mortgage rates has led to a drop-off in refinance activity but does not appear to have had much impact on home purchase activity to this point. Home prices are expected to continue to climb, although the pace should slow significantly from the dramatic levels seen during the past 12 months." - Fannie Mae.com August 2013

" Freddie Mac(OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving back up near their highs for the year amid recent data pointing to signs of a stronger economic recovery, as well as positive news coming from the housing and manufacturing sectors." - Freddie Mac September 2013