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3 ways to get a lower mortgage rate before the Fed’s April meeting
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So much for a June interest rate cut. While many were cautiously optimistic at the start of the year that inflation would continue to fall and interest rate cuts would soon follow, the recent trio of inflation reports have significantly reduced those hopes. And with inflation rising both in February and March, the prospect of rate increases is suddenly more realistic. At a minimum, one Fed official recently floated the idea of no rate cuts at all in 2024 — and that was before the most recent inflation report release.
Against this backdrop, homebuyers need to be savvy in their approach. Mortgage interest rates hit their highest point since 2000 last summer and hovered around that point ever since. And there’s still much work to be done to temper current rate volatility. That all noted, while current buyers won’t be able to secure the low rates of 2020 and 2021, they may still be able to a lower mortgage rate right now, before the Fed’s April meeting potentially affects the cost of home borrowing again.
See what mortgage rate you could qualify for today here.
3 ways to get a lower mortgage rate before the Fed’s April meeting
Here are three effective ways to get a lower mortgage rate now, before the market potentially heats up at the end of the month.
Lock in a rate now
Sure, today’s 7.13% average rate for a 30-year mortgage seems high, particularly compared to the 3% range available in recent years, but it may be the lower option if you wait around and rates rise again. There’s no real downside to locking in today’s rate now.
If rates somehow drop between the time you lock your rate and the time you close, you could unlock and relock the new one (assuming you’ve kept your credit in shape in the interim). And if rates are higher by that time, you’ll already have the better option. Plus you could always refinance at some point in the future when the rate climate stabilizes.
See exactly how low of a mortgage rate you could secure online today.
Explore all alternatives
Lenders will provide other ways to get a lower interest rate besides the conventional mortgage loan. By buying mortgage points, borrowers will pay a fee to the lender in exchange for getting a lower rate (think half a percentage point, approximately). This fee can be paid upfront at closing or rolled into the overall mortgage loan, but it could add up to major savings over the life of the loan.
Adjustable-rate mortgages, meanwhile, will adjust over time (usually after the first few years of the mortgage loan). But buyers may be able to get a lower rate than they would have if they had gone the conventional route. And they could always refinance into a fixed-rate loan when the market changes again.
While neither option is perfect (mortgage points will cost you and adjustable-rate mortgages come with inherent risks if the market doesn’t move in the right direction), they’re both viable for buyers looking to secure a lower mortgage rate immediately.
Shop around
While you won’t likely find a mortgage rate dramatically lower from one lender to another, every little bit helps. And with mortgage applications currently down, lenders will look to compete with one another right now to secure your business.
Knowing this, then, buyers should shop around to find the lowest rate possible. But don’t just compare the rate — compare the estimated closing costs and fees as well. After all, a lower mortgage rate that comes with excessive fees may not be as advantageous as it seems on paper.
Learn more about your mortgage options online today.
The bottom line
With another Federal Reserve meeting just weeks away — and the potential for rate hikes higher than they’ve been in months — homebuyers should consider taking certain steps now to get a lower mortgage rate. That means locking in what’s available now before they potentially tick up. But it also means exploring alternatives like mortgage points and adjustable-rate mortgages. And, as is the case with most financial products, it pays to shop around to find the best rate and terms. By taking these steps now, before the market adjusts to whatever decision the Fed makes at the end of April, you can better position yourself for homebuying success.
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Sen. Thom Tillis says “the scope” of Helene damage in North Carolina “is more like Katrina”
As recovery missions and repairs continue in North Carolina more than a week after Hurricane Helene carved a path of devastation through the western part of the state, the state’s Republican Sen. Thom Tillis called for more resources to bolster the relief effort and likened the damage to Hurricane Katrina’s mark on Louisiana in 2005.
“This is unlike anything that we’ve seen in this state,” Tillis told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday morning. “We need increased attention. We need to continue to increase the surge of federal resources.”
Hurricane Helene ripped through the Southeast U.S. after making landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 as a powerful Category 4 storm. Helene brought heavy rain and catastrophic flooding to communities across multiple states, including Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, with North Carolina bearing the brunt of the destruction. Officials previously said hundreds of roads in western North Carolina were washed out and inaccessible after the storm, hampering rescue operations, and several highways were blocked by mudslides.
Tillis said Sunday that most roads in the region likely remained closed due to flooding and debris. Water, electricity and other essential services still have not been fully restored.
“The scope of this storm is more like Katrina,” he said. “It may look like a flood to the outside observer, but again, this is a landmass roughly the size of the state of Massachusetts, with damage distributed throughout. We have to get maximum resources on the ground immediately to finish rescue operations.”
Hurricane Katrina left more than 1,000 people dead after it slammed into Louisiana’s Gulf Coast in August 2005, flooding neighborhoods and destroying infrastructure in and around New Orleans as well as in parts of the surrounding region. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. in the last 50 years, and the costliest storm on record.
The death toll from Hurricane Helene is at least 229, CBS News has confirmed, with at least 116 of those deaths reported in North Carolina alone. Officials have said they expect the death toll to continue to rise as recovery efforts were ongoing, and a spokesperson for the police department in Asheville told CBS News Friday their officers were “actively working 75 cases of missing persons.”
On Saturday, the U.S. Department of Transportation released $100 million in emergency funds for North Carolina to rebuild the roads and bridges damaged by the hurricane.
“We are providing this initial round of funding so there’s no delay getting roads repaired and reopened, and re-establishing critical routes,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration will be with North Carolina every step of the way, and today’s emergency funding to help get transportation networks back up and running safely will be followed by additional federal resources.”
President Biden previously announced that the federal government would cover “100%” of costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures in North Carolina for six months.
With North Carolina leaders working with a number of relief agencies to deal with the aftermath of the storm, Tillis urged federal officials to ramp up the resources being funneled into the state’s hardest-hit areas. The senator also addressed a surge in conspiracy theories and misinformation about the Biden Administration’s disaster response, which have been fueled by Republican political figures like former President Donald Trump.
Trump falsely claimed that Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent in the November presidential election, were diverting funds from Federal Emergency Management Agency that would support the relief effort in North Carolina toward initiatives for immigrants. He also said baselessly that the administration and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, were withholding funds because many communities that were hit hardest are predominantly Republican. Elon Musk has shared false claims about FEMA, too.
“Many of these observations are not even from people on the ground,” Tillis said of those claims. “I believe that we have to stay focused on rescue operations, recovery operations, clearing operations, and we don’t need any of these distractions on the ground. It’s at the expense of the hard-working first responders and people that are just trying to recover their lives.”
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