Home | Newsletter | Advertise
loading...

Rates Are Almost Certain to Go Up -- But How High?

  • February 17th 2010

by Will Smith

Rates Are Almost Certain to Go Up -- But How High?: Figure 1

There is consensus among housing experts and economists that mortgage rates will go up markedly this year, leaving behind the historic five-percent-and-below levels that homebuyers have enjoyed for over a year. The prediction is rooted in the fact that the federal government will end the trillion-dollar program to buy mortgage-backed securities that pushed rates down so low at some point in late spring or early summer.

So, barring an unanticipated extension of the program, the question is not if rates will rise, but by how much.

The San Francisco Chronicle just ran an article in which a number of experts were surveyed for their predictions, which ranged from 50 to 200 basis points, putting the resulting rate between 5.5 and 7 percent.

At today’s 4.875 percent, a $200,000 mortgage costs $1,058 per month. If rates rose to 5.5 percent, that monthly expense would rise $78 to $1,136. If rates rose all the way to 7 percent, the monthly cost would go up $273 to $1,331.

What’s your prediction? Where do you think rates will be at the end of 2010?

See other articles related to: dc area market trends, dclofts, mortgage rates

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/rates_are_almost_certain_to_go_up_--_but_how_high/1789.

DC Real Estate Guides

Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market

We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!

First-Timer Primers

Intro guides for first-time home buyers

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse