Predictions for the New Year from Lisa Prevost at the NY Times
The coming year is expected to be a little kinder to home buyers. While affordability will continue to be a problem in hot markets like New York and San Francisco, buyers in general may find they have more homes to choose from and more lenders vying for their business.
MORTGAGE RATES CONTINUE TO CLIMB. As the economy improves and the Federal Reserve winds down its monetary stimulus, mortgage rates will rise to reflect that lack of stimulus, said Erin Lantz, the director of mortgages at Zillow.com. She predicts 30-year fixed-rate loans will hit 5 percent for the first time since 2010. That’s still historically low, and rising rates are a sign of a stronger economy.
