Mortgage rates are at their highest level in more than a decade. Home buyers are fighting back.
More borrowers are paying fees to cut their interest rates and making higher down payments to lower the amount they have to finance, lenders and real-estate agents say. People buying homes under construction are choosing to lock in today’s rates rather than risk even higher ones later.
And more home buyers are considering home loans that carry lower rates in their early years. Applications for adjustable-rate mortgages have doubled over the past three months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
For much of 2020 and 2021, ultralow mortgage rates helped Americans offset a sharp increase in home prices. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell below 3% for the first time in July 2020 before bottoming out at 2.65% in early 2021.
…
