What Will Mortgage Rates Do in 2018?
LOUISIANA REALTORS • January 30, 2018
Over the past several years homebuyers have enjoyed record low mortgage rates. As the economy continues to recover and thrive after the recession, the threat of increasing interest rates has grown. While the escalation has been small, it doesn’t take much of a change on either side of the decimal point to mean big dollars over the next 30 years. So what does the mortgage
rate landscape have in store for 2018?
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Simply put, rates will be increasing. In 2017 there was a slight increase in March when rates peaked at 4.44%, before ending the year at 4.15%. This year they are expected to increase by about one half of one percent. With this forecasted rate hike, securing a mortgage now, before the increase, could save you thousands of dollars.
Here are a few predictions for 2018:
Mortgage Bankers Association: 4.6%
National Association of REALTORS®: 4.5%
REALTOR®.com: 4.6% average, reaching 5% by the end of 2018.
If you are considering purchasing a new home this year, there is no time like the present to take advantage of these historically low rates. It’s always a good idea to secure your financing before you begin shopping ; and trusting a REALTOR® to help you through this process can ensure a smooth transaction.
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NAR is pleased to share the latest consumer guide that explains the concept of home staging, offers DIY staging tips and missteps and shares the latest NAR member sentiment on how staging can help buyers better visualize the property as their future home and potentially net sellers a higher price. As a reminder, all guides in this series are available for download—in both English and Spanish—on facts.realtor . Please allow up to two weeks for the Spanish version of the latest resource to be translated and uploaded. For ease of reference, below is a list of the most recent guides: NEW: Staging Your House for a Sale Spotting Deepfake Scams in Real Estate Are You Ready to Invest in Real Estate? Thinking of Selling? 7 Factors to Consider How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient Thank you for your continued engagement with the “Consumer Guide” series and for sharing the resources with prospective clients to ensure they have the information they need to find success in their home buying or selling journey. Remember that these guides are for informational purposes only and are not meant to enact or change any existing NAR policy. Be on the lookout for the next consumer guide, which discusses home mortgage options that allow buyers to fold in renovation costs.
With legislative work wrapped for week two of the session, here is your look back at what took place inside the halls of the Capitol. This week was defined by one major theme: workforce. Across both chambers, lawmakers moved a substantial package of measures focused on workforce development and reforms to Louisiana’s labor and workers’ compensation systems. House Labor Committee One of the busiest areas of activity was the House Labor Committee, which met Thursday morning and took up a slate of bills tied to employment policy, workforce structure and independent contractor issues like measures on portable benefits. The committee’s work underscored the broader push this session to modernize Louisiana’s workforce. Workers’ Compensation Reform The conversation around workers’ compensation reform also gained serious momentum. On the House side, additional labor-related bills addressed independent contractor definitions and other employment law issues. This week marked one of the first major pushes of the session on labor and workforce policy. House & Governmental Affairs Beyond labor-focused legislation, activity also continued in other key committees. In the House & Governmental Affairs Committee, lawmakers advanced multiple bills dealing with the timing of bond and tax elections. Tax, Commerce and Property Looking back at the broader week-two agenda, the Legislature also began considering several tax, commerce, and property-related measures, including proposals impacting property tax assessments, homestead exemptions, and the issues affecting private property. While workforce dominated the week, these issues are starting to gain traction as the session moves forward. A portion of our legislative package will be heard next week as HB 468 moves to the House Commerce Committee and HB 292 moves to the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee. Be on the lookout for any potential calls-to-action for these, or any other upcoming bills. Please view the weekly bill tracking report provided by our lobbying team over at Harris, DeVille and Associates.
