There was only one good thing that came out of the Great Recession. Cheap stuff. If you did have the means to buy something, you probably fared well. The more expensive the item, like a house, the better. Along with lower prices we had cheap borrowing costs. That’s nice and all but I think we can all agree that we would like to not have a Great Recession to have cheaper prices.
At the peak of the slide in the economy, mortgage rates hit a record low of 3.3% on the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Great if you could use it but unfortunately for most, with the economy down in the dumps, they weren’t. Home prices might be higher than a decade or so ago, but mortgage rates are essentially back to record low rates once again. With the fed recently cutting rates and all kinds of volatility in the financial markets, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with good credit stands at 3.5%. Nearly touching a record low. But this time we have record employment and record wages. Most Americans in the workforce are able to take advantage of and should be. If you have a mortgage you should be looking to refinance right now. Almost everyone with a mortgage has a higher rate. If you’re renting you should be looking to buy right now.
We’ve never seen the combination of employment, wages and mortgage rates we have right now. The average mortgage is 26% cheaper than a year ago today. That’s a savings of more $400 per month for the average homeowner in South Florida over this time last year.
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