BRADENTON, Fla. — It seems like the cost of everything is constantly going up, and now mortgage rates are climbing to the highest since the pandemic started. But financial advisor Kaleb McCarty with Truvestments said don't panic, because they’re still near historic lows.
"If you look at mortgage rates back in 1981; they were at about 18 percent. And they’ve gradually gone down and down and down and down to what they are today," said McCarty.
McCarty said even if the 30-year mortgage rate is around 3.5 percent, that’s still really low compared to pre-COVID levels.
"Just three years ago, in 2019 rates were at 3.6 percent and that was a record low, so it's still a good time to buy a house," said McCarty.
Mortgage rates plummeted during the pandemic and as things start to reopen and get back to normal, McCarty said it's not surprising to see the rates start to rise back up.
"I think we’ll continue to see rates rise a little bit, but I think the surprise for everybody will be that they’re not going very high," said McCarty.
He said right now is a good time to buy or refinance and if you want to wait, he says that’s okay too.
"Go ahead and refinance now, go ahead and get your mortgage but I wouldn’t be extremely afraid of waiting either. Even six to 12 months because I think there will be a peak sometime this year and then it will start to recede," said McCarty.
