Mortgage interest rates have risen sharply over the last 30 days. The recent change will cost new borrowers over $56 per month for every $100,000 borrowed. Average U.S. interest rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages were at 6.02% as of this week. Last month at this time, they were sitting at 5.13%.
Recent forecasts for changes in interest rates have generally been mixed. While there will likely be upward pressure, it is hard to imagine them settling too much higher given the continuing uncertainty in the overall economy. Regardless of any movement we see, interest rates will likely continue to be lower than the long-term average mortgage interest rates in our country.
The long-term average mortgage interest rate is still over 7.75%. When you compare monthly payments at today’s rates versus the long-term average, homeowners are currently saving about $116 per month per $100,000 borrowed. That makes mortgaging today’s homes more affordable than historic averages.
However, mortgages are significantly more expensive now than they were last year at this time. The average increase in monthly payments per $100,000 borrowed with a 30-year fixed price mortgage is around $180 per month over the last year. If you max out a conventional mortgage, that means your monthly payment will be around $1,160 more per month now than it would have been in September of 2021.