Is 5% on a mortgage high? (2024)

Is 5% on a mortgage high?

But there is a tipping point, recent reports found: Homeowners are nearly twice as willing to sell their home if their mortgage rate is 5% or higher, according to Zillow, and 71% of prospective homebuyers who plan to purchase their next home with a mortgage said they would not accept a rate above 5.5% — that is the “ ...

So a good mortgage rate could look drastically different from one day to the next. Right now, good mortgage rates for a 15-year fixed loan generally start in the high-5% range, while good rates for a 30-year mortgage typically start in the mid-6% range.

According to Rachel Sanborn Lawrence, advisory services director and certified financial planner at Ellevest, you should feel OK about taking on purposeful debt that's below 10% APR, and even better if it's below 5% APR.

Another example: You borrow $200,000 for a mortgage at 3 percent fixed interest for 15 years. You'll wind up paying $248,609.39 over the life of the loan. If your mortgage interest rate is 5 percent, you'll pay $284,685.71. Those two percentage points mean a difference of more than $36,000.

Under the terms of a traditional mortgage, you would retain any accumulated equity. Is it possible to get a 4% mortgage rate? The average rate for a 30-year conventional mortgage has been above 6.5% since early 2023, meaning that a rate offer anywhere near 4% would be significantly below market.

Compared to where rates were just a couple of years ago, a 7% mortgage rate is extremely high. But now, many borrowers who got their mortgage in the last year likely have rates of 7% or higher. Depending on your score, you may get a rate in the 7% range right now.

The monthly income rule

“You want to make sure that your monthly mortgage is no more than 28% of your gross monthly income,” says Reyes. So if you bring home $5,000 per month (before taxes), your monthly mortgage payment should be no more than $1,400.

Mortgage rates are expected to decline later this year as the U.S. economy weakens, inflation slows and the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is expected to fall to the low-6% range through the end of 2024, dipping into high-5% territory by early 2025.

Weekly national mortgage interest rate trends

For homeowners looking to refinance, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed refinance is 7.05%, decreasing 14 basis points since the same time last week. Meanwhile, the current average 15-year refinance interest rate is 6.58%, down 12 basis points over the last week.

The point at which you begin paying more principal than interest is known as the tipping point.

What percent interest is too high?

A high-interest loan is one with an annual percentage rate above 36% that can be tough to repay. You may have cheaper options. Annie Millerbernd is a NerdWallet authority on personal loans.

A September survey by U.S. real-estate industry consultants John Burns Research & Consulting pinpointed that magic number at 5.5%. Nearly three-quarters of respondents who plan to purchase their next home with a mortgage said “they are not willing to accept” a mortgage rate above that 5.5% figure, the company reported.

The mortgage rate forecast for 2024 is that rates are expected to go down, based on current predictions, although it may take longer than had previously been hoped. And there may be fluctuations as we've seen in February and March 2024 when fixed mortgage rates increased after many months of falling.

The bottom line

Sure, mortgage rates could fall to 3% at some point, but chances are that's not going to happen anytime soon. Moreover, waiting for rates to drop before you buy your home could backfire. Instead, consider buying your house now and refinancing your mortgage when rates improve.

30-year mortgage rates are currently expected to fall to somewhere between 5.9% and 6.1% in 2024. Instead of waiting for rates to drop, homebuyers should consider buying now and refinancing later to avoid increased competition next year.

For example, if you assume a $300,000 mortgage with a 2% interest rate, you'd be responsible for an $887 monthly payment, which is $791 less than what you'd pay at a 7.5% interest rate.

Sticking with the example in the section above, a 30-year $400K mortgage at a 7% interest rate would have a monthly payment of $2,661. Meanwhile, the same 30-year $400K mortgage at a 7.5% interest rate would have a monthly payment of $2,797, taxes and insurance not included.

At a 7.00% fixed interest rate, a 30-year $100,000 mortgage may cost you around $665 per month, while a 15-year mortgage has a monthly payment of around $899.

Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association and National Association of Realtors predict that mortgage rates will gradually descend in 2024, to around 6% in the final three months of the year.

An individual earning $60,000 a year may buy a home worth ranging from $180,000 to over $300,000. That's because your wage isn't the only factor that affects your house purchase budget. Your credit score, existing debts, mortgage rates, and a variety of other considerations must all be taken into account.

How much house can I afford if I make $70,000 a year?

Assuming a 20 percent down payment on a 30-year fixed-rate loan at an interest rate of 7 percent, you can afford the payments on a $240,000 home, according to Bankrate's mortgage calculator.

Goldman said it expects 30-year mortgage rates will drop to 6.3% by the end of 2024, and fall slightly in 2025 to 6% as the Fed starts to cut interest rates.

The answer is No. when interest rates rise; not everybody is worse off as actions with the loaned funds differ. People who take up loans to purchase assets such as a house or cars are worse off in any interest rate rise as more is expected for them to finance their purchases.

Legally speaking, there's no limit to how many times you can refinance your mortgage, so you can refinance as often as it makes financial sense for you. Depending on your lender and the type of loan, though, you might encounter a waiting period — also called a seasoning requirement.