Real Estate
What are mineral rights in real estate?
3 min read
EXPERTISE
- Mortgages
- Real estate
- Home renovations
- Condos and co-ops
- Aviation
EDUCATION
- Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Northwestern University
The key to getting the best deal on a mortgage is shopping around with multiple lenders. If you don't, you could wind up paying thousands of dollars unnecessarily.
— Zach Wichter
About the author
Zach Wichter is a former mortgage reporter at Bankrate. He previously worked on the Business desk at The New York Times where he won a Loeb Award for breaking news, and covered aviation for The Points Guy. He also worked in production on Dateline NBC and wrote anchor copy for New York 1. He graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 2013. As president of his co-op board in Queens (it’s like a condo board, but more New York-y), Zach is constantly thinking about real estate and dealing with issues of homeownership, HOA-style house rules and mortgage eligibility.
Highlights
Wichter came to the mortgage beat at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when home financing and the real estate industries were rare bright spots in an otherwise sluggish economy. He got to work looking under the hood of trends in the headlines, and by analyzing address forwarding data from the U.S. Postal Service, learned that the pandemic wasn't the end of cities after all. He also focuses on racial equity issues in the housing market.
Experience
Although Bankrate is the first place Wichter covered the mortgage and real estate verticals full-time, he's an experienced business reporter with a broad range of experience. In addition to covering aviation at The Times, he had a weekly column that highlighted commercial real estate transactions in New York City, and covered all kinds of stories as a general assignment business reporter.
In the media
The key to getting the best deal on a mortgage is shopping around with multiple lenders. If you don't, you could wind up paying thousands of dollars unnecessarily.
— Zach Wichter
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Zach's Latest Articles
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The average 30-year fixed-refinance rate is 5.88 percent, down 1 basis point over the last seven days. The average for a 15-year refi is currently running at 5.14 percent, up 4 basis point since the same [...]
5 min read Jun 23, 2022 -
Today’s best mortgage and refinance rates, June 22, 2022 | Rates rise
It is currently a great time to take out a mortgage: the average 30-year fixed-mortgage rate is 6.04, the average 15-year fixed-mortgage rate is 5.30 percent, and the average rate on a 5/1 adjustable rate [...]
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VA loans: A complete guide to mortgages for eligible military veterans
Learn the essentials of this popular mortgage benefit before you apply.
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Today’s refi rates ratchet higher : June 21, 2022
The average 30-year fixed-refinance rate is 5.97 percent, up 8 basis points since the same time last week. The average rate for a 15-year fixed refi is 5.26 percent, up 21 basis points since the same time [...]
5 min read Jun 21, 2022 -
Today’s mortgage refinance rates ratchet higher : June 16, 2022
The average 30-year fixed-refinance rate is 5.89 percent, up 36 basis points since the same time last week. The average for a 15-year refi is currently running at 5.10 percent, up 35 basis points from [...]
6 min read Jun 16, 2022 -
Today’s mortgage & refinance rates, June 15th, 2022: Rates rise
Mortgage interest rates stay close to record lows: the average 30-year fixed-mortgage rate is 5.97, the average rate for the benchmark 15-year fixed mortgage is 5.15 percent, and the average rate on a [...]
5 min read Jun 15, 2022 -
Compare today’s mortgage and refinance rates, June 13, 2022 – Rates rise
Now is a favorable time to take out a mortgage loan: the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is 5.78, the average rate you’ll pay for a 15-year fixed mortgage is 4.91 percent, and the average 5/1 [...]
5 min read Jun 13, 2022 -
Today’s refi rates increase – June 10, 2022
The average 30-year fixed-refinance rate is 5.58 percent, up 20 basis points compared with a week ago. The average rate for a 15-year fixed refi is 4.74 percent, up 12 basis points over the last week. [...]
5 min read Jun 10, 2022