Columbus Real Estate
Information
Interest Rates and How They Change
As you start shopping for a home loan, your first question of each
lender will probably be "What's your interest rate? How much are
you charging?"
Interest rates are usually expressed as an annual percentage of the
amount borrowed. If you borrowed $120,000 at 10% interest, you'd owe
interest of $12,000 for the first year. With most mortgage plans you'd
pay it at the rate of $1,000 a month. You would also send in something
each month to reduce the principal debt you owe - and the next month
you'd owe a bit less interest.
When your grandparents bought their home (putting at least half the
purchase price down, by the way), their interest rate was probably
around 4 or 5%. Rates stayed the same for years at a time. Then in
the years following World War II, things became more turbulent.
As economic changes speeded up, rates began to change several times
a year. By the l980s, lenders were setting new rates on mortgage loans
as often as once a week - and they still do today. When inflation
hit a high in the '80s, some mortgage loans carried interest rates
as high as 17% - and those who absolutely needed to buy, paid that
much.
Rates dropped gradually through the 1990s, and by 1998 had reached
their lowest rates in decades. Heading toward the millenium, home
buyers appear to have the most favorable conditions for mortgage borrowing
since their grandparents' days - and without 50% down payments either.
Further Information:
Planning Your Home Purchase
Checking Your Credit Rating
Pre-qualification and Pre-approval on a Mortgage
Becoming an Educated Buyer: Research Neighborhoods
Becoming an Educated Buyer: Your List of Home Requirements
Assess Your Finances: Checklist
Assess Your Finances: Compare buying with renting
Assess Your Finances: Calculating the cost of homeownership
Assess Your Finances: What you can deduct
Interest Rates and How They Change
Closing Costs
Other Closing Costs
Figuring Out Your Monthly Income
Figuring Out Your Monthly Debt
Amount of Your Down Payment
How Much House Can You Afford?