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Today, several notable refinance rates decreased.
Both the 15-year fixed and 30-year fixed saw their mean rates decline. At the same time, average rates for 10-year fixed refinances also went down.
Throughout the first months of 2022 refinance rates have been on a tear, increasing dramatically. Short-term interest rates have already increased multiple times, and the Fed plans to do so again in the coming months.
In the current financial climate, homeowners should carefully consider whether it’s the right time to refinance. Right now, homeowners may struggle to find an interest rate low enough for refinancing to make sense. That said, interest rates aren’t the only thing to concentrate on. Closing costs on a refinance loan can add up to thousands of dollars, greatly increasing your upfront costs.
Here’s where refinance rates are today .
Refinance rates currently are:
Compare refinance rates for a wide range of different loans here.
Refinance Rate Forecast: What Is Driving Mortgage Rate Change?
In April, annual inflation was 8.3% based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This still puts it on par with the 40-year highs we’ve seen in the past few months. And that’s not good for refinance rates.
In response to high inflation that has lasted longer than initially anticipated, the Federal Reserve has begun increasing interest rates. There are also geopolitical events that are poised to add to our inflation woes. China’s COVID lockdowns and the war in Ukraine could both exacerbate existing supply shortages. And we haven’t even started to feel these supply shocks, “it’s going to take months for those disruptions to seep fully into the supply chain,” Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel Financial told NextAdvisor.
Because of all of this, we could be stuck with high inflation for much longer than we want, which makes it more likely that the Fed will have to raise interest rates aggressively.
Is Now a Good Time to Refinance?
As a rule of thumb, refinancing can save you money if you can secure an interest rate that’s around 1% lower than your existing rate. That said, the recent spike in refinance rates has drastically reduced the number of homeowners with interest rates that are well above today’s average rates.
There are alternatives to refinancing. With values rising in today’s housing market, homeowners …….
Source: https://time.com/nextadvisor/mortgages/daily-rates/refinance-rates-today-may-18-2022/