The current era of low mortgage rates is saving homeowners billions

The average interest rate on a 30-year home loan has remained at or near record lows for the better part of the last year. According to one new report, this has resulted in billions of dollars of saving for the American homeowner. Black Knight’s September Mortgage Monitor, 8.8 million mortgage holders in the U.S. have saved upwards of $1.3 billion per month or $14 billion since the start of the pandemic. The savings have been realized largely due to a significant number of borrowers refinancing in to a lower rate and securing a smaller monthly mortgage payment.

“The record low interest rate environment driven by the nation’s COVID-19 response resulted in nearly 9 million homeowners initiating rate and term refinances over the first 18 months of the pandemic,” said Ben Graboske, President of Data Analytics at Black Knight. “This group is on track to save nearly $35 billion in total by the end of next year.”

In addition to the nearly nine million homeowners who have refinanced, Black Knight estimates that another 11.5 million 30-year mortgage-holders that currently meet the credit requirements who could still qualify for a lower rate. Today, conforming no-point 30-year fixed mortgage rates are averaging 2.875 percent and 15-year rates are near 2.25 percent.

Do you have a question for Real Estate & Mortgage Analyst Mehran Aram? Submit your queries about a home purchase, refinance, or reverse mortgage via Aramco.biz, social media (#AramcoReport), or over the phone at (877) 700-0924 and your questions may be featured in an upcoming article