In any other year, when Chicago homeowners read an opening line like, “For the 13th time this year, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage set a record low…,” their reaction would most likely be something like, “Wow! They cut rates again! How great!”
Not this year. Most of 2020 has seen gun-shy Chicago residents, having rebounded from one unexpected obstacle after another, take one look at that sentence and be more apt to focus on the unlucky number ‘13’ and think, “Uh-oh! Now what?”
But Chicago homeowners can relax. The news flash is, indeed, good news (unequaled news, actually). As Realtor Magazine noted, when it comes to 30-year fixed mortgages, “home buyers and refinancing homeowners have never before locked in a rate this low.” When the previous all-time record low was set on November 5, rates averaged 2.78%. As Chicago headed into the extended Thanksgiving weekend, the new record beat that one by .06%.
For Chicago homeowners who are thinking of selling, the progression of incremental rate lowerings was largely responsible for what some called “a national home-buying spree.” Realtor credited “ultra-low mortgage rates [that] are boosting home-buying activity to the highest level since 2006.”
The effect was contagious, as well. The chief economist at government-chartered Freddie Mac credited strong housing demand for “a domino effect on many other segments of the economy.” Strong demand plus sub-bargain basement mortgage rates are a potent mix for any Chicago homeowner who has been waiting for the right time to put his or her home on the market. If that describes you, now is the time to call!
