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U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 6.52%, highest since mid-2008

reuters.com

31–40 of 178 posts

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 6.52%, highest since mid-2008

#32
post #18
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why root for the downfall of Redfin and the like? They were finally a lower cost alternative to the stranglehold that RE agents have had on sellers for decades. Why should it cost 6% to sell a house?

Do you have to pay tax to the Government where you live to buy a house ? I'm wondering if Stamp Duty is just a UK thing. Here we pay a tax to the government when you buy that is based on the value of the house you are buying. Up to £250,000 Zero The next £675,000 (the portion from £250,001 to £925,000) -5% The next £575,000 (the portion from £925,001 to £1.5 million) -10% The remaining amount (the portion above £1.5…

Depends on the locality, but as far as I know, most cities in the US have a "transfer tax" that is some percentage of the home sale price. It varies quite a bit in different cities and can also be 'progressive' in some cities, where more expensive properties have a higher tax rate.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 6.52%, highest since mid-2008

#33
post #19

Pretty crazy correction if you run the math on mortgage payments. I bought a place 1 year ago with a 2.75% rate. Say you're somewhere outside a major metro buying a $500k house. With a $100k down payment, a 2.75% rate equates to $1,633/month. A 6.5% rate equates to $2,500/month. With $600/month in taxes/insurance, the "don't spend more than 40% of your income on housing" rule means the necessary income to comfortably…

The market does not work that way. You're implying that the cause and effect are backwards. It is local wages that set the price! The prices, while they do adjust slowly due to high friction in the housing market, are not exogenous.

The 500% difference in housing prices. You are leaving out numerous factors including demand, supply, and local regulations.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 6.52%, highest since mid-2008

#34

people who can buy a house all cash will be the real winners here. if and when rates go down, they can cash out refinance, and if they don't they will benefit from the downward pressure high rates create on prices. it's rich to be rich.

My wife and I have been waiting for this for a few years now. We live in a college town in the South and the prices here are fairly delusional. I imagine this will allow for some market correction and we’ll be able to get into a bigger home.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 6.52%, highest since mid-2008

#35
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine believing that Redfin has any influence on the U.S. homes market. The U.S. home market is worth ~50 trillion dollars. There are > 1.3 million homes for sale at this moment.

Someone is buying them, and it’s definitely not the average American. I have a 90th percentile income, and I cannot afford the median (or mean) home price in the US.

It's weird, right? Like... who is paying these crazy prices?

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 6.52%, highest since mid-2008

#36
post #18
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why root for the downfall of Redfin and the like? They were finally a lower cost alternative to the stranglehold that RE agents have had on sellers for decades. Why should it cost 6% to sell a house?

Do you have to pay tax to the Government where you live to buy a house ? I'm wondering if Stamp Duty is just a UK thing. Here we pay a tax to the government when you buy that is based on the value of the house you are buying. Up to £250,000 Zero The next £675,000 (the portion from £250,001 to £925,000) -5% The next £575,000 (the portion from £925,001 to £1.5 million) -10% The remaining amount (the portion above £1.5…

A few states/regions have this, for instance Pennsylvania I believe has a 2% transfer tax. Overall it is not common.

Edit: Based on [0] more common than I thought, though there is a really wide range in values with some of the rates quite small, e.g. 0.1%, even 0.01% in CO. This reference is 25 years old though.

[0] https://www.landcan.org/pdfs/StateTransferTaxChart.pdf

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 6.52%, highest since mid-2008

#38
post #16

Rates were higher than this continuously for 30 years up until about 20 years ago. It really is the recent rates that have been exceptionally low.

Why should we look at a period 20 years in the past for predictions about the future? 20 years ago Facebook didn't exist nor did the iPhone. For the last 10 years rates have been below 6%. It seems a strech to call a decade "recent."

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 6.52%, highest since mid-2008

#39

People with adjustable or variable rate mortgages are probably full of regret right now.

After watching what happened in 2008, I swore never to get an adjustable rate mortgage. Now I'm quite happy with my 2.99% 30 year.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 6.52%, highest since mid-2008

#40
post #18
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why root for the downfall of Redfin and the like? They were finally a lower cost alternative to the stranglehold that RE agents have had on sellers for decades. Why should it cost 6% to sell a house?

Do you have to pay tax to the Government where you live to buy a house ? I'm wondering if Stamp Duty is just a UK thing. Here we pay a tax to the government when you buy that is based on the value of the house you are buying. Up to £250,000 Zero The next £675,000 (the portion from £250,001 to £925,000) -5% The next £575,000 (the portion from £925,001 to £1.5 million) -10% The remaining amount (the portion above £1.5…

As with most things in the US, it depends on where you live. I’ve paid anywhere from a flat rate of a couple hundred bucks to 2%. It’s generally called a real estate transfer tax. Note: this is different than points, general property tax, agent fees, etc.

Ref: https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/transfer-taxes/

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