Mortgage rates on the rise heading into 2025

There are just four days left in 2024 and if home buying is a goal you've set for the new year, prepare to shell out more money. This is mortgage rates continue to rise despite the Federal Reserve cutting the prime rate back in September, November and most recently just last week. Brandy McGill reports. New homes are going up and so are mortgage rates, climbing to 6.85%, hitting a five month high. The rates are always going to fluctuate according to what's going on in the market. Mortgage America lender Sheila Nelson has witnessed rates go up and down for nearly 25 years and says this is the highest she's seen in a while. Whenever I first got back in with a retail lender in 2017, probably by 2019 we were seeing rates very low in the twos. I know I've refinanced somebody at like two and a quarter. In 2021, I bought my home at two and three quarters. According to Freddie Mac, just a year ago, the 30-year mortgage rate averaged at 6.61% and is now the highest it's been since July. Nelson says although the Federal Reserve has made cuts throughout the year, those cuts haven't trickled down to the home market. So the bond market is what affects the rate and so whatever's happening in the bond market is going to affect that. Even though the feds have come down now a couple of times, each time they've come down, our rates went up. So, you know, they're looking at like the jobs, what's going on with unemployment, you know, all of the things that are going on in our society have effects on the rate. You can lock in on a fixed rate and if you aren't on a fixed rate, what are the percentages or the chances of refinancing? So you can always refinance. Normally, if you were to lock in, I just put in an average of about 6.875, although the rate looked a little higher today. There are options out there where you can have either your lender or the seller to assist you with a 2-1 buy down. And that is a tremendous product that helps people to get in the home that they want to get into. It lowers that rate for the first two years. So then if rates actually come down during that time, you are able to refinance at any time. Nelson says your credit score and job history even contribute to higher interest rates. However, getting keys in hand is always the end goal for Nelson, despite higher rates. There are down payment assistance grants out there that we have access to that can help you to get into a home. So I don't ever want anybody to think that they're not able to buy. You know, it may not be right this minute, but we can work out a plan to get you there. Brandi McGill, WLOX News.