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U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

reuters.com

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Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

#161

I saw someone point out that this interest rate hike will effectively nullify any bubble breaks. House prices could drop over 30% (the amount it dropped in the last housing bubble popping) and the monthly mortgage payment will still be more than it was before. A terrible time to be looking for a house.

more buyers than available homes. playing with interest rates is really just a speedbump to the Market.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There isn’t a supply issue. There is a corporations buying property issue.

I sometimes hear people say this, but it makes zero sense to me, and I can never get anybody to explain what they mean by it. Could you try to explain how we have enough houses but somehow corporations are the problem?

I assume because it allows for what amounts to price fixing.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you think people are going to pay mortgages they are massively underwater on? Yes? Why wouldn't you? It seems pretty short-sighted to just put your arms in the air, give up, get foreclosed on, lose your home, and have your credit be absolutely wrecked for the next 7 years. Just keep making your payments and ride it out. The market will eventually recover. I think the only reason to give up is if you fell for the sc…

I bought a house in the Chicago suburbs in August 2007 for $275k. I short sold it 4 years later for $115k. It sold 2 years ago (13 years afer I bought it) for $210k. "Eventually" is doing a lot of work in your comment.

Which is why buying a house should be considered consumption. It's to own a residence. Asset appreciation in real estate is a very long game and is not guaranteed. Strategic default will wreck your credit.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not selling doesn't magically make your house keep it's market value. As long as there's someone in the vicinity selling at a lower price your house would lose value either way. And there's always someone selling.

It does however make it irrelevant. If you never plan on selling and your mortgage rate is low then you're winning on inflationary terms.

If you dont plan on selling how are you're winning on inflationary terms?

If you do sell, and the prices are higher, then you have won.

If you do sell, and the prices are lower, then you have lost.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

#165
The redistribution of workers thanks to remote friendly policies mean municipal tax revenues in large cities have dramatically fallen. To cover that shortfall, will we now see increased appraisals and support for increased property tax rates? Such things are historically a political third rail, but I wonder if increased social inequality and disgust for short term rentals may flip the script. This may also have the effect of nudging out those who are otherwise content to sit on long term low rate mortgages. With more homes on the market this would help to drive down the cost of getting into home ownership in an age when mortgages are high.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much did you owe after the properties were sold?

Zero. And I was eligible for a new FHA mortgage 3 years after.

I mean what was the difference between your outstanding mortgage principal and the value of the homes at the time of default?

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

#167
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In most states, lenders have recourse. So if you stop paying your mortgage, the bank will foreclose on your home and then come after your other assets to make up the difference in what you owe vs. what the home is currently worth.

Recourse versus non-recourse mortgages is an interesting difference that most people seem to be unaware of. I do not recall reading about it in any of the disclosures (running hundreds of pages) that I had to read. I only found out about it while researching on the internet. Apparently, there are only 10 non-recourse states as of 2009: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, O…

Refinance in California remains non-recourse as of maybe 10 years ago.

Washington isn't really non-recourse, lenders have the option of recourse or non when pursuing foreclosure, non-recourse is significantly faster and is predominantly chosen; but if it was known you had assets, they might choose to go recourse.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you think people are going to pay mortgages they are massively underwater on? Yes? Why wouldn't you? It seems pretty short-sighted to just put your arms in the air, give up, get foreclosed on, lose your home, and have your credit be absolutely wrecked for the next 7 years. Just keep making your payments and ride it out. The market will eventually recover. I think the only reason to give up is if you fell for the sc…

That's not what happened in 2008. This exact scenario was the primary cause of the financial meltdown at the time. The prevailing wisdom was people would always pay their mortgage, so the securitization of real estate mortgages were viewed as a safe investment - and invest they did! When the housing bubble popped a lot of investment banks who thought they had safe assets suddenly found themselves upside down, further…

This is true, but it's also missing the key part where leading up to 2008 lenders offered mortgages to people they were pretty sure wouldn't be able to keep paying, and then laundered those into the so-called "safe" investment when it was anything but.

Is that part repeating now too?

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the people I speak to who locked in Current renters will have lower potential to save on a monthly basis, only to get 30-40% off on their first home with a >7% interest rate. If you sum the lost savings from rent plus the additional interest payment, it is uncertain whether that is the best strategy. That is also assuming real estate prices in certain regions wont hold stronger value, which they probably will…

> Most of the people I speak to who locked in If this keeps supply low, why does anybody have hope housing prices will fall in a meaningful way over the next 3 years? (aka, people on the sidelines waiting for a pullback)

Because it won’t keep supply low (nationwide) unless we figure out how to stop people from dying, or open immigration floodgates.

Re: U.S. mortgage interest rates jump to 7.16%, highest since 2001

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sometimes hear people say this, but it makes zero sense to me, and I can never get anybody to explain what they mean by it. Could you try to explain how we have enough houses but somehow corporations are the problem?

I assume because it allows for what amounts to price fixing.

They would have to consist of a huge fraction of the market in order to do price fixing, but the highest percentage of purchases I have ever seen referenced is about 10% of purchases in a time period, which doesn't get anywhere close to having a significant number of the housing stock.
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