Mortgage rates dipped below 6 percent. What that really meant for local buyers.
By Mina Mina · Real Broker, LLC
In late February the average 30 year fixed rate slipped just under 6 percent for the first time in about three and a half years. If you had been waiting on the sidelines, that was a real moment, and plenty of buyers felt it in their monthly payment.
Why a small rate move matters so much
On a typical Snohomish or King County loan, a half point change in rate can move your payment by a few hundred dollars a month. That is the difference between a home that feels comfortable and one that feels like a stretch. Rate matters just as much as price, and it moves faster.
The lesson is not to time the bottom
Here is the thing about that sub 6 window. It did not last. Rates turned and climbed through the spring. Nobody rang a bell at the low. The buyers who benefited were the ones who were already prepared, already preapproved, and ready to act when their number showed up.
You cannot control the market, but you can be ready for it. If you want to be positioned to move the next time rates cooperate, let us get your preapproval and your search dialed in now.