
Why you should lock in a mortgage rate ahead of the next Fed meeting
The Federal Reserve may not directly set mortgage rates, but a likely outcome of its next meeting is more-expensive loans.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
The Federal Reserve may not directly set mortgage rates, but a likely outcome of its next meeting is more-expensive loans.
More ways to make an all-cash offer without the cash, and the end of forbearance for many.
Getting into forbearance was easy. Getting out, not so much, some homeowners find.
Failure to raise the federal debt ceiling could lead to an economic catastrophe.
Mortgage rates and real estate trends are returning to more of a pre-pandemic normal.
Refi opportunities persist and key signs that your home may need maintenance.
There are three warning signs that can alert you to structural issues with a home.
Key advice for first-time homebuyers and an overview of the busiest and calmest areas for housing in the U.S.
High housing prices are putting many properties out of reach for buyers. Here’s some ways around that.
The average 30-year fixed-refinance rate is 3.01 percent, up 2 basis points over the last seven days. The average for a 15-year refi is currently running at 2.30 percent, unchanged from a week ago. The [...]
The government sets goals to boost minority homeownership, but largely fails to meet them.
Mortgage rates are down again, and more developments in the real estate market.
Sprucing up a room through photo editing can make a home listing more appealing to buyers
The return of iBuyers and an update on mortgage rate trends.
If you’re looking to buy your first house, but student loan debts are holding you back, here’s what to do.
The Fed issued its much-anticipated rise in interest rates. Learn more about refinancing second homes and investment properties, and explore best practices for renovating backyards and choosing a new construction [...]