While it has many would-be buyers wringing their hands – as they get shut out in multiple offer purchases, and many other would-be re-financers kicking themselves for not having already refinanced a few months ago, it’s important to keep it in perspective:

On a 30-year fixed rate loan of $300,000 the change of a quarter percent in the interest rate results in a change in monthly payment of about $43.00.

According to AOL real estate news posted May 29, in the previous week refinance applications were down 8% (that’s us owners, kicking ourselves) but home purchase applications were up 2.6%.

AOL real estate news says rates have increased by 31 basis points since the beginning of May; 12 points just in the week ending May 24. That put the rates at their highest level in a year, with the national average for a 30-year fixed rate loan at 3.90 percent. (12 basis points is just under one-eighth of a percent) 

JT Kennedy, senior loan officer at M&T Bank, forwarded me this chart, showing U.S. interest rates for home mortgages all the way back to 1976. Seriously, rates are up which means your payments on a new loan would be up, but still the rates are at a fraction of what they used to be! JT is your man for refinance (he works out of Portland, but the bank does business in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Colorado, Nevada and Arizona). Shoot him an email for more info and awesome testimonials from his clients. Of course he also does purchase loans.

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