Mortgage rates rise across the Miami Valley; When is the best time to buy?

With mortgage rates rising across the nation, those house-hunting may be wanting to wait on buying their new house.

Mortgage rates are at the highest they’ve been since 2009. According to Forbes, the average weekly rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage has jumped to over five percent, and the average cost of a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage has jumped to over four and a half percent.

The recent increase in inflation has caused the federal reserve to raise interest rates.

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News Center Seven’s Dontre Drexelius spoke with Christopher Rines, Regional Vice President of USA Mortgage, about the rising mortgage rates.

“So, consumers are definitely asking the questions about, you know, is it a good time to buy or refinance with the interest rates where they’re at? And while rates are a little higher than they have been, it’s still a great time for both purchase and refinance on the purchase side. Home values continue to increase. We do not see that slowing down because of the shortage of inventory. So really, it’s a key of getting in the house now to take advantage of home prices, you know, before they continue to rise, and then from there, it’s a great time to refinance once rates drop,” said Rines.

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Some homeowners may try to save money by refinancing.

Refinancing could lead to a lower monthly payment, but this doesn’t always mean less interest over the life of the loan.

If someone refinanced a five percent mortgage with 26 years left on it, down to a 4 percent rate but at 30 years, it would cause them to pay more than $13,000 in interest.

The higher mortgage rates will eventually drop home sales in the next few months.