2022 Mortgage Rate Trends and Information Worth Taking to Heart
Since the housing bubble burst in the early 2000s, home buyers had to deal with tighter loan requirements, but the other side of that coin is that they also enjoyed the lowest mortgage interest rates in history. It’s been a fun run, but it is finally looking as if historically low interest rates will soon be a thing of the past.
Look at how fast things have changed already in 2022. On January 6, the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.22%, according to Freddie Mac’s archives. But by March 17, it already climbed to 4.16%. And things aren’t expected to get better any time soon.
Why Interest Rates are Suddenly on the Rise
There are three things that need to happen for interest rates to rise – the economy needs to be healthy; inflation needs to be high, and investors need to be expecting prices to rise over a certain period. This is the exact situation the United States finds itself in, especially with the most recent unemployment figures coming in at their lowest since 1969 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affecting markets all over the world.
As a result of this, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated in January that "[T]he economy no longer needs sustained high levels of monetary policy support." Thus, the central bank is increasing the interest rate.
How Fast Things Change
The most important word in the title of this post is “predictions,” because nobody knows exactly what the market will look like by year’s end. In fact, many industry experts have already gotten it wrong and are now starting to change their tunes. Here’s what some experts were predicting just a month or two ago:
- “We don’t expect to see major shocks,” said Danielle Hale, the chief economist at Realtor.com. She predicted rates to tick up about half a percentage point to 3.6% in 2022.
- Robert Frick, corporate economist for Navy Federal Credit Union said, “Given mortgage rates are closely tied to the 10-year Treasury yield, and that yield isn’t expected to rise much in the next year—if at all—rates could rise slightly but are likely to remain below 3.5%.”
- Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), predicted rates could reach 4% by the end of 2022.
- Lawren Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), predicted mortgage rates to hit 3.7% by the end of 2022.
- Selma Hepp, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic, predicted rates will be closer to 3.4% by year’s end.
Today, with interest rates already over 4%, experts are making more ominous guesses.
- “It wouldn’t shock me if we pass 4.25% or even get to 4.5% this month, depending on how the market starts pricing in what the Fed says,” said Doug Duncan, SVP and chief economist at Fannie Mae.
- Joel Kan, associate vice president, industry surveys and forecasts at Mortgage Bankers Association said, “MBA forecasts that mortgage rates will rise further over the next year to around 4.5%.”
- Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting at National Association of Realtors, said, “I forecast mortgage rates to average around 4.4% at the end of the year.”
What Should Mortgage Officers Expect in 2022?
With interest rates rising and no signs in sight of them turning around anytime soon, home buyers will be more likely to shop around before choosing a mortgage company this year. Mortgage officers already know that no client is guaranteed, but this year will really bring that knowledge home. So, it will be more important than ever to deliver exceptional service and attention to your mortgage leads if you want to keep them from shopping around.
Driving home the point that waiting to buy and choosing to not lock in their interest rate now will only make their home more expensive in the long run needs to be one of your strongest aspects of your pitch. With every day they wait, the interest rate could rise. And with an increase of just a single percentage point adding thousands of dollars to a loan over time, there’s a lot of money they could be standing to lose.
Get Ready for a Competitive Mortgage Market in 2022
With the mortgage market looking to be more competitive than ever this year, having access to high-quality mortgage leads is more important than ever. At RGR Marketing, we can provide your mortgage professionals with exclusive, high-quality leads that have been scrubbed and verified for accuracy. We have more than 20 years of experience serving the mortgage industry, so we have what it takes to provide you with the leads you need to improve your closing rates in 2022.
With so many factors affecting the 2022 housing market, the last thing you need is to struggle with poorly curated mortgage leads. Contact RGR Marketing today and get the exclusive, highly targeted leads you need to stay ahead of the competition.
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