One of the biggest challenges facing today’s housing market isn’t necessarily home prices—it’s something many economists refer to as the mortgage lock-in effect. Millions of homeowners purchased or refinanced homes between 2020 and 2022 when mortgage interest rates were historically low. Many of those borrowers locked in rates between 2% and 4%. Fast forward to…
When it comes to understanding mortgage rates, relying solely on media sources can be misleading. The best barometer for where mortgage rates truly stand is the actual source: FreddieMac.com. This is the entity that buys the loans made and sold by mortgage aggregators. When you see headlines claiming that interest rates are lower or have…